The Relationship of Shear Wave Elastography Findings With Pain Threshold and Quality of Life in Patients With Lipedema

The Relationship of Shear Wave Elastography Findings With Pain Threshold and Quality of Life in Patients With Lipedema

The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between disease severity and subcutaneous tissue shearwave elastography findings with pain threshold and quality of life in patients diagnosed with lipedema.

Patients diagnosed with lipedema were divided into 3 stages according to disease severity. Pain level was evaluated with visual analogue scale, pain threshold with algometric measurement, and quality of life with EQ-5D general quality of life scale. All patients underwent measurements using B-mode ultrasound and subcutaneous elastic modulus with shear wave elastography (SWE) imaging of lower limbs at three anatomical levels.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Female patients diagnosed with lipedema

Exclusion Criteria:

• under 18 years of age,
• Patients with edema of cardiac or nephrogenic origin, diabetes mellitus, thyroid dysfunction, patients with lymphedema or chronic venous insufficiency, oncology patients,
• individuals with polyneuropathy, radiculopathy, or advanced degenerative diseases affecting the extremities within the last 6 months, based on clinical findings and medical history.
• patients using antiepileptics and antidepressants,
• individuals unable to cognitively tolerate participation in the study were also excluded.