Quality of Life of Patients With Major Amputations in the Tertiary Care Center of Western Rajasthan: A Prospective Observational Study in 2019-2020

Abstract

Introduction Amputation of a limb is a loss of physical integrity that has disastrous consequences for a person's mental, physical, and social well-being. Aim We aim to analyze the quality of life (QoL) after major amputations and long-term outcomes. Method and materials A prospective, observational study has been conducted in a health care institute in western Rajasthan from January 2019 to July 2020. This study included 64 patients who had major upper or lower limb amputations. We analyzed the sociodemographic factors of the patients, the type of procedure, postoperative hospital stay, complications, and follow-up status with both the SF-12 and the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL)-BREF questionnaires. Mean, median, range, standard deviation, percentages, univariable, and multivariable logistic regression were analyzed with SPSS version 23.0 software (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results The mean age of the study patients was 53.6 years (SD 2.6) and they were mostly male (71.9%). Atherosclerotic peripheral vascular disease (PVD) was the most common indication (37.5%) of amputation, and below-the-knee amputation (46.88%) was the most commonly performed procedure. There was a significant increment in both PCS (p-value= 0.001), MCS scores (p-value=0.0001) of SF-12 and physical (p-value=0.0001) and psychological domains (p-value=0.001) of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire in the postoperative period. A total of 83.9% of patients have used prostheses, and 15.6% had mortality. Conclusions Major amputations can significantly affect the quality of life of patients, and all efforts should be made to avoid factors that adversely affect their quality of life.

Health Related Quality of Life in patients undergoing Lower Limb Amputation secondary to Peripheral Arterial Disease

“…12 (52.2%) received below-knee amputation (BKA), and 9 (39.1%) received above-knee amputation (AKA). 7 (30.40%) patients had previous revascularization surgery whereas 16 (69.60%) did not. The most common co-morbidity was Diabetes Mellitus, found in 18 (78.10%) of patients.…”

“…The quality of life of an individual, is a subjective appraisal of wellbeing, more important than an objective assessment of health. Worldwide, especially in the western world, studies have been conducted to evaluate the HRQOL in amputee patients, especially due to CLI [15][16][17][18] . Challenges in the field of health care faced by developing nations are distinctive due to a lack of knowledge regarding disease progression and the related costs, often unbearable for needy patients in rural areas 16 .…”

Catastrophic Talar Bone Loss from High Velocity Trauma Treated with Structural Tricorticate Fibula Autograft, Compression Frame and Midfoot Distraction Arthroplasty

“…An alternative to the treatment is amputation [23]. Amputations however will cause quality of life issues for the patient along with an inability to return to work [24]. The anterior flap was reflected to allow a trans fibular approach to the cement space and protect the flaps vascular pedicle [25].…”

The Impact of Toe Amputation on the Quality of Life of Diabetic Foot Patients: A Cardiff Wound Impact Schedule (CWIS) Evaluation

“…Increasingly, research is focusing on patients' quality of life (QoL) post-medical intervention, especially after major surgeries like toe amputation. Understanding how surgeries impact QoL not only aids physicians in making more comprehensive and personalized treatment decisions but also provides patients with more realistic and complete prognostic information [6] .…”