A Systematic Review of the Outcomes Used to Assess Upper Body Lymphedema

<b>Purpose:</b> To ascertain how change in upper body lymphedema is assessed and understand how clinically significant change is determined. <b>Method:</b> A systematic search of the literature resulted in 55 eligible studies for analysis. <b>Results:</b> A range of assessment methods, measurement protocols, and outcomes were used in the literature. Of the 21 studies in which thresholds for change were set <i>a priori</i>, 20 different thresholds were reported. <b>Conclusion:</b> How data was measured, analysed and reported was inconsistent across studies. Consensus on a core outcome set with standardised assessment protocols and reporting; and investigation into empirically based minimum important differences (MID) is needed.