Clinical and demographic characteristics of patients with lower limb amputation

Abstract

Aim: Lower limb loss affects an individual’s ability to stand, transfer, and ambulate. The aim of this study is to assess clinical and demographic characteristics of patients with lower limb amputation.Materials and Methods: Our study is a retrospective cohort study. 836 patients with lower limb amputation applied to our hospital between January 2012 and May 2013 were included in this study. Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients were reviewed and saved from patient’s folder. Descriptive variables were shown as mean±standard deviation(min–max). And categorical variables were shown as the number of cases (n%).SPSS software Version 15.0 was used in the evaluation of the data.Results: The mean age of total 836 lower limb amputees was 36.12±11.69 years (9-78). The percentage of unilateral amputation was 770(92.3%) and bilateral lower limb amputation was 59(7.1%). According to the level of amputation, 456(54.5%) of the patients had unilateral above-knee, 236(28.3%) had unilateral below-knee amputation. For etiology, we found that 373(44.6%) of them were traffic accidents, 103(12.5%) occupational accidents. The majority of patients 456(54.5%) were ambulated microprocessor-controlled above-knee prosthesis and then below-knee prosthesis with active vacuum system 224(26.7%).Conclusion: Although trauma is recognized to be the most common cause of amputation among applying amputees, we think that those amputees do not reflect the general profile in our country but that it is instructive with regard to the features of amputees. This data is important for the community rehabilitation of amputees and the development of new prosthetics.