severity of pitting scale, a common clinical practice in assessment to assign a positive number for the severity of pitting edema in the lower extremities as follows: +1 = a normal foot and leg contour with a barely perceptible pit; +2 = fairly normal lower extremity contours with a moderately deep pit; +3 = obvious foot and leg swelling with a deep pit; +4 = severe foot and leg swelling that distorts the normal contours with a deep pit.
