Original Research
Differences in characteristics between people with lower limb amputations who died before 12 weeks and those who survived: Short Report
South African Journal of Physiotherapy | Vol 67, No 1 | a38 |
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajp.v67i1.38
| © 2011 L. Godlwana, A. Stewart, E. Musenge
| This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 05 January 2011 | Published: 19 February 2011
Submitted: 05 January 2011 | Published: 19 February 2011
About the author(s)
L. Godlwana, University of Witwatersrand, South AfricaA. Stewart, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa
E. Musenge, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa
Full Text:
PDF (283KB)Abstract
The baseline determinants of survival following a non-traumatic lower limb amputation (LLA) in participants in the Johannesburg metropolitan area are unknown.The aim of the study was to establish the characteristics of participants who had died by three months after LLAA longitudinal pre- test- post test study utilized participant interviews (n=73). Consecutive sampling was used to select participants who met the inclusion criteria. Ethical clearance was obtained. Permission was obtained from the hospitals. Participants gave consent before taking part in the study. A demographic questionnaire, the EQ-5D, the Modified Household Economic and Social Status Index (HESSI) and the Barthel Index (BI) were used, to collect data. Participants were interviewed preoperatively and then followed up three months post-operatively to establish survival/ existence. Twenty-four participants (33%) had died. The preoperative median Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) of the EQ-5D was 60 and 70 showing no significant difference in quality of life (QOL) between those who survived and those who died respectively. The preoperative median total BI score was 20 and 19 showing significantly inferior function for the deceased (p=0.01). The deceased were significantly older (p=0.009) used alcohol (p=0.02) and smoked tobacco (p=0.03).Being older, having poorer function, being a smoker and drinking alcohol preoperatively seem to decrease the chance of survival following LLA in Johannesburg.
Keywords
lower limb amputation; survival; quality of life; function; socio-economic status
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