PURPOSE: The call to integrate prospective surveillance for lymphedema into cancer care pathways is building momentum to enable early intervention and prevent the progression of the condition. We offer a critical evaluation of the literature on prospective surveillance and early management for cancer-related lymphedema and evaluate the effect of such programs in preventing chronic lymphedema (CRD42019137965). METHODS: Five databases and two registries were searched for randomized controlled trials or observational studies that assessed the incidence or prevalence of lymphedema associated with participation in a prospective surveillance program, published until February 26, 2021. Numbers triggered for early lymphedema management, resolved, and chronic lymphedema were extracted. Pooled relative risk (trials) and pooled rate (cumulative incidence; observational studies) of chronic lymphedema was calculated. Subgroup analyses assessed the effect of study design, length of follow-up, and extent of axillary surgery. RESULTS: Twenty-three studies were included, of which 21 studies evaluated breast cancer–related arm lymphedema (BCRaL). Participation in prospective surveillance with early management reduced the risk of chronic BCRaL versus usual care (relative risk 0.31; 95% CI, 0.10 to 0.95; two randomized controlled trials; N = 106). The pooled rate of chronic BCRaL was 4% (95% CI, 3 to 6; 15 observational studies; N = 3,545), and 6% (95% CI, 4 to 9) when restricted to participants with axillary lymph node dissection (12 studies; N = 1,527). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that participation in prospective surveillance with early management reduces the risk of chronic BCRaL. Only a minority of patients at high risk of lymphedema because of axillary surgery developed chronic lymphedema. More robust research is needed to determine whether prospective surveillance with early management can reduce the risk of chronic lymphedema, particularly among cancer survivors other than breast cancer.

Purpose Most veterans live for many years after their war-related traumatic lower-limb amputation, which is why understanding which factors influence health-related quality of life (HRQoL) remains important to their long-term management. The objective of this study was to perform a review of the literature to summarize any evidence on the physical and social determinants for HRQoL in veterans with uni- or bilateral lower-limb amputation(s). Method MEDLINE, EMBASE, PEDro, CINAHL, Scopus and Cochrane databases were searched systematically for eligible studies. Inclusion criteria were: traumatic lower-limb amputation(s), HRQoL outcome and veterans. Physical and social factors that influence HRQoL were extracted. Results The literature search identified 2073 citations, leading to the inclusion of 10 studies in the systematic review. Physical activity level, sport participation, level of amputation, back pain, years of education, as well as duration and severity of phantom pain were found to be determining factors for HRQoL among veterans with lower-limb amputation. Conclusions The identified physical and social determinants were similar to those found in civilian traumatic amputees. More high quality research designs, interventions and complex statistical analyses are warranted to identify the physical and social factors that influence the HRQoL of veteran amputees. Implications for Rehabilitation Rehabilitation staff should promote physical activity and participation in sport among veterans with lower-limb amputation(s). Level of amputation, back pain severity, years of education, duration of phantom pain and severity of phantom pain have been found to be determining factors for HRQoL and should be taken into consideration when planning rehabilitation programs for veterans with lower-limb amputations.

The body of evidence related to the effect of physical activity monitor-based interventions has grown over the recent years. However, the effect of physical activity monitor-based interventions in older adults remains unclear and should be systematically reviewed. The objective of this systematic review was to estimate the effect of physical activity monitor-based interventions on physical activity behavior in participants aged 65 and above. Subsequently we explored the effect on body mass index, physical capacity, and health-related quality of life and finally the impact of patient- and intervention characteristics. Searches in MEDLINE, EMBASE, SPORTDiscus, CINAHL, and CENTRAL were performed on April 26, 2018. No publication date filters were applied. References of eligible studies were scrutinized and relevant journals were hand-searched. Randomized controlled trials and randomized cross-over trials investigating the effect of a physical activity monitor-based intervention on physical activity were included. Studies were included if the mean age of the participants was above 65 years, and participants could walk independently with or without walking aids. The Cochrane handbook was used as a template for extracting data and the RoB 2.0 tool was used to assess risk of bias. Random-effects meta-analysis using Hedges g, were used to pool the study results. The main outcome of this study was physical activity. Twenty-one studies with 2783 participants were included. The median participant age in the studies was 70.5 years, the median percentage of male participants was 42%, and the median baseline daily step count was 5268. Physical activity monitor-based interventions had a moderate effect (SMD = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.34 to 0.73) compared to control interventions, corresponding to an average increase of 1297 steps per day in the intervention groups. No impact of patient and intervention characteristics on the effect estimates were found. Low quality of evidence was found for a moderate effect of physical activity monitor-based interventions on physical activity compared with control interventions. More studies with higher research methodology standards are required. CRD42018083648 .

Objective: To review the evidence concerning the effects of postoperative exercise interventions on ...

Background: Few studies have investigated the measurement properties of consumer-grade physical activity monitors (PAMs) in older adults. Therefore, we investigated the criterion validity of consumer-grade PAMs in older adults and whether the measurement properties differed between older adults with and without rollators and whether worn on the hip or at the wrist. Methods: Consumer-grade PAMs were eligible for inclusion in this study if they: 1) could be fastened at the hip as well as on the wrist, 2) were simple in function and design and thus easy to use for participants with minimal technical skills, 3) included step-counting as outcome measure and 4) were powered by a button cell battery. Participants performed self-paced walking for six minutes while two physiotherapists counted their steps with a click-counter. The average of the two counts was used as criterion. The participants wore 16 monitors, four located bilaterally on both hips and wrists. Our prior expectation was that all monitors would have at least moderate criterion validity for all participants, good criterion validity for participants walking without a rollator and poor criterion validity for participants walking with a rollator. Results: Four physical activity monitors were included in this study; Misfit Shine, Nokia GO, Jawbone UP Move and Garmin Vivofit 3. A total of 103 older adults participated. Nokia GO was excluded from this study due to technical issues. Therefore, we present results on the frequency of data loss, ICC (1, 2) and percentage measurement error for Misfit Shine, Garmin Vivofit 3 and Jawbone UP Move located on four different positions. Conclusions: The hip-worn PAMs did not differ significantly in terms of measurement error or criterion validity. Wrist-worn monitors cannot adequately measure number of steps in a population of older adults using rollators. The hip-worn PAMs were superior to wrist-worn PAMs among older adults with and without rollators.

OBJECTIVE To estimate the effectiveness of physical activity monitor (PAM) based interventions among adults and explore reasons for the heterogeneity. DESIGN Systematic review and meta-analysis. STUDY SELECTION The electronic databases MEDLINE, Embase, SPORTDiscus, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) were searched on 4 June 2021. Eligible randomised controlled trials compared interventions in which adults received feedback from PAMs with control interventions in which no feedback was provided. No restrictions on type of outcome measurement, publication date, or language were applied. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed risk of bias. Random effects meta-analyses were used to synthesise the results. The certainty of evidence was rated by the Grading of Recommendations Assessment and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The three primary outcomes of interest were physical activity, moderate to vigorous physical activity, and sedentary time. RESULTS 121 randomised controlled trials with 141 study comparisons, including 16743 participants, were included. The PAM based interventions showed a moderate effect (standardised mean difference 0.42, 95% confidence interval 0.28 to 0.55) on physical activity, equivalent to 1235 daily steps; a small effect (0.23, 0.16 to 0.30) on moderate to vigorous physical activity, equivalent to 48.5 weekly minutes; and a small insignificant effect (-0.12, -0.25 to 0.01) on sedentary time, equal to 9.9 daily minutes. All outcomes favoured the PAM interventions. CONCLUSIONS The certainty of evidence was low for the effect of PAM based interventions on physical activity and moderate for moderate to vigorous physical activity and sedentary time. PAM based interventions are safe and effectively increase physical activity and moderate to vigorous physical activity. The effect on physical activity and moderate to vigorous physical activity is well established but might be overestimated owing to publication bias.