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Previous Volume 347:1924-1931 December 12, 2002 Number 24 Next

	Full Text PDF PDA Full Text PowerPoint Slide Set Supplementary Material Perspective by Sherman, R. Add to Personal Archive Add to Citation Manager Notify a Friend E-mail When Cited PubMed Citation

ABSTRACT

Background Limb salvage for severe trauma has replaced amputation as the primary treatment in many trauma centers. However, long-term outcomes after limb reconstruction or amputation have not been fully evaluated.

Methods We performed a multicenter, prospective, observational study to determine the functional outcomes of 569 patients with severe leg injuries resulting in reconstruction or amputation. The principal outcome measure was the Sickness Impact Profile, a multidimensional measure of self-reported health status (scores range from 0 to 100; scores for the general population average 2 to 3, and scores greater than 10 represent severe disability). Secondary outcomes included limb status and the presence or absence of major complications resulting in rehospitalization.

Results At two years, there was no significant difference in scores for the Sickness Impact Profile between the amputation and reconstruction groups (12.6 vs. 11.8, P=0.53). After adjustment for the characteristics of the patients and their injuries, patients who underwent amputation had functional outcomes that were similar to those of patients who underwent reconstruction. Predictors of a poorer score for the Sickness Impact Profile included rehospitalization for a major complication, a low educational level, nonwhite race, poverty, lack of private health insurance, poor social-support network, low self-efficacy (the patient's confidence in being able to resume life activities), smoking, and involvement in disability-compensation litigation. Patients who underwent reconstruction were more likely to be rehospitalized than those who underwent amputation (47.6 percent vs. 33.9 percent, P=0.002). Similar proportions of patients who underwent amputation and patients who underwent reconstruction had returned to work by two years (53.0 percent and 49.4 percent, respectively).

Conclusions Patients with limbs at high risk for amputation can be advised that reconstruction typically results in two-year outcomes equivalent to those of amputation.

Source Information

From the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, N.C. (M.J.B., J.F.K.); the Center for Injury Research and Policy, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore (E.J.M., T.G.T., R.C.C.); the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, University of Maryland at Baltimore, Baltimore (A.R.B.); the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, N.C. (L.X.W.); the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle (M.F.S.); the Orthopedic Trauma Service, Tampa General Hospital, Tampa, Fla. (R.W.S.); the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas (A.L.J.); the Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville (M.P.M.); the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Cleveland MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland (B.M.P.); and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore (M.L.M.).

Address reprint requests to Dr. Bosse at the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Carolinas Medical Center, 1000 Blythe Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28203, or at mbosse{at}carolinas.org.

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