A comprehensive clinical examination is the basis for selecting further diagnostic steps:
- General physical examination – including blood pressure, pulse, body weight, height; furthermore:
- Inspection (viewing).
- Skin and mucous membranes [Leading symptoms:
- Frequently dry, itchy skin
- Positive Kaposi-Stemmer sign (clinical sign of the presence of lymphedema) – it is positive in the absence of lift-off of the interdigital skin on the forefeet (a negative Kaposi-Stemmer sign does not exclude lymphedema); primary lymphedema usually affects both legs, while secondary affects only one limb, depending on the exact cause.
- Doughy swelling of the skin/subcutaneous tissue (doughy edema)]
- Skin and mucous membranes [Leading symptoms:
- Inspection (viewing).
- Health check
Square brackets [ ] indicate possible pathological (pathological) physical findings.
