[The therapeutic action of hidrosmin in chronic lymphedema]

During three months, 20 women, diagnosed of primary (n = 7) or secondary (n = 13) lymphoedema, were treated with hidrosmin, 400 mg t.i.d. The volume of the extremities was measured before and after therapy by projection of shadows with optoelectronic data collection; characteristics of oedema were also evaluated by means of an scoring scale including data on severity and consistency of oedema, pain, loss of function and trophic changes. The volume of the affected extremity was 2784 +/- 972 cc before treatment and was reduced to 2597 +/- 819 cc after it, the mean reduction being 5.8% +/- 9.0% (p less than 0.001). The overall scoring for clinical parameters was 4.2 +/- 1.4 before treatment and 3.5 +/- 1.5 after (p less than 0.05). The drug was well tolerated. The authors have considered hidrosmin as an important therapeutical options for the treatment of chronic lymphoedema.