Abstract
The aim of the current study was to evaluate the prevalence of stump infections after major amputations of the lower extremities.Patients rehospitalized in Hospital de Base of the Medicine School in São José do Rio Preto in the period from January 2005 to January 2007 due to stump infection after major amputations of lower extremities were evaluated in a retrospective study. All the patients underwent prophylactic antibiotic therapy at the time of the surgery. The Fisher exact test was utilized for statistical analysis with an alpha error of 5% (p-value < 0.05) being considered acceptable.A total of 231 patients were submitted to major amputations during this period and 17 (7.3%) were rehospitalized due to amputation stump infections of which 5 (29.4%) died within one month. The association between death due to stump infection and other causes of death during rehospitalizations was not significant (Fisher exact test: p < 0.1). However, death during rehospitalizations was significantly higher than in the initial hospitalization.
Highlights
Chronic critical limb ischemia, defined as > 2 weeks of rest pain, ulcers, or tissue loss attributed to arterial occlusive disease, is associated with great loss of both limb and life [1]
Of the 231 patients submitted to major amputations in this period, 17 (7.3%) suffered infections of the amputation stump, 5 (29.4%) of whom died
No significant difference was seen between death due to stump infection and to other causes in the rehospitalizations (Fisher exact test: p < 0.1)
Summary
Chronic critical limb ischemia, defined as > 2 weeks of rest pain, ulcers, or tissue loss attributed to arterial occlusive disease, is associated with great loss of both limb and life [1]. Major limb amputation is often required by patients with a limited capacity to tolerate post-operative complications [2]. Complications after major amputations such as wound infections, development of phantom pain, severe mental distress, myocardial infarction or strokes are frequent [2,3]. Prophylactic antibiotics significantly reduced rates of stump infection in all studies, and were associated with a reduced rate of re-amputation in one [2]. The use of a prolonged 5-day course of combined antibiotics after major lower limb amputation to reduce stump infection rates led to shorter in-hospital stays [6]
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