Lymphoedema 4: research priorities in lymphoedema care.

This article, the last in the series on lymphoedema, presents a survey of priorities in lymphoedema research conducted among lymphoedema treatment practitioners in the UK. Using a two-stage survey method, members of the British Lymphology Society were asked to identify areas lacking in a good evidence base which were crucial for informing clinical decision-making and service developments. Nine priority research questions were identified by the practitioners, with general agreement among respondents of the ranking order. The highest-ranking questions were: (1) What are the risk factors associated with lymphoedema? (2) How do we best treat skin infection/inflammation? (3) How effective is manual lymphatic drainage compared to other treatments?