Prosthetic Fitting and Mortality after Major Lower Extremity Amputation

Abstract

IntroductionStudies suggest that ambulation after major lower extremity amputation (LEA) is low and mortality after LEA is high. Successful prosthetic fitting after LEA has a significant quality of life benefit, however, it is unclear if there are benefits in post-LEA mortality. Our objective was to examine a contemporary cohort of patients who underwent LEA and determine if there is an association between fitting for a prosthetic and mortality. MethodsWe reviewed all patients who underwent LEA between 2015 and 2022 at two academic healthcare systems in a large metropolitan city. The exposure of interest was prosthetic fitting after LEA. The primary outcomes were mortality within 1- and 3-years of follow-up. Ambulation after LEA was defined as being ambulatory with or without an assistive device. Patients with prior LEA were excluded. Extended Cox models with time-dependent exposure were used to evaluate the association between prosthetic fitting and mortality at 1- and 3-years of follow up. ResultsAmong 702 patients who underwent LEA, the mean (SD) age was 64.3 (12.6) years and 329 (46.6%) were fitted for prosthetic. The study population was mostly male (n=488, 69.5%), predominantly Non-Hispanic Black (n=410, 58.4%), and nearly one-fifth were non-ambulatory prior to LEA (n=139, 19.8%). Of note, 14.3% of all subjects who were non-ambulatory at some point after LEA, and 28.5% of patients not ambulatory preoperatively were eventually ambulatory after LEA. The rate of death among those fitted for a prosthetic was 12.0/100 person-years at 1 year and 5.8/100 person-years at 3 years of follow up and among those not fitted for a prosthetic, the rate of death was 55.7/100 person-years and 50.7/100 person-years at 1- and 3-years of follow up, respectively. After adjusting for several sociodemographic data points, comorbidities, pre- or post-COVID pandemic timeframe, and procedural factors, prosthetic fitting is associated with decreased likelihood of mortality within 1 year of follow-up (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.24; 95% CI, 0.14 - 0.40) as well as within 3 years (aHR 0.40; 95% CI, 0.29 - 0.55). ConclusionsProsthetic fitting is associated with improved survival and preoperative functional status does not always predict postoperative functional status. Characterizing patient, surgical, and rehabilitation factors associated with receipt of prosthetic after LEA may improve long-term survival in these patients. Process measures employed by the VA, such as prosthetic department evaluation of all amputees, may represent a ‘best practice’.