Can prosthetic limbs made too quickly cause kidney damage?: a pilot study

Abstract

Objective: The use of chemicals for building prosthetic sockets present the possibility of being hazardous and unsafe due to off-gassing. The purpose of the present study was to investigate if freshly made materials used in prosthetic sockets causes off-gassing that would penetrate the skin and cause damage to the kidneys or blood. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: In this research, the off-gassing effects during the initial curing process of styrene monomer, vinyl ester resin, epoxy methacrylate resin, benzene-1, 3-dimethaneamine, trimethylhexanedlamine, and paratertiarybutylphenol were analyzed. Acid detection strips were placed inside newly fabricated mock-prosthetic sockets and left overnight in a closed environment to find out if acid was present in the invisible fumes. The plastic was worn by 9 subjects and urinalysis was made after 48 hours to test for any kidney or blood toxicity of the resins. Results: After wearing the plastic cuff for 48 hours, the ratio of protein to creatinine in the urine was raised to an abnormal level in five out of nine subjects. Four out of the nine subjects showed normal protein to creatinine ratios after wearing the device. The results showed that damage to the kidney occurred from wearing the resins after curing in half of the subjects. Conclusions: It is very important to conduct patient intakes which includes the assessment of renal function. Off-gassing in vented chambers may be needed to protect both prosthetists and patients.