Differential Diagnosis: Identifying the Etiology of Edema

Course description

This lecture offers vital information for therapists to establish the source of a patient’s edema before proceeding with comprehensive decongestive therapy. Treatment may be quite different if the edema is due to an underlying disease or condition rather than lymphoedema.

This course will discuss the data that should be analysed to determine the source of unilateral or bilateral edema including specific measures, lab values, and a patient’s past medical history. Using a sample case of a patient with bilateral edema, the course will go step-by-step through the evaluation process used to determine how aggressively to treat the edema or whether the patient should instead be referred to their primary care provider. You’ll also be taught the prediction rules used to determine if a patient’s unilateral edema might be due to a deep venous thrombosis (DVT) rather than lymphoedema.

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