Researchers conducted a retrospective case series study to investigate outcomes in patients with lower-limb loss based on whether they used a training prosthesis during rehabilitation. They found that patients who used a training prosthesis had a significantly shorter hospital length of stay when compared to those who did not.
The research team reviewed the medical records of 171 consecutive patients admitted to rehabilitation hospitalization in Belgium between January 2014 and December 2018 following a lower-limb amputation. Outcomes (i.e., discharge destination, length of stay, number of sockets required, number of the size adaptation of each socket, and functional level) were compared. Of the 171 patients, 126 underwent rehabilitation with a training prosthesis.
The length of stay for patients with training prosthesis was not influenced by age but was lowered by a higher body mass index, tibial instead of femoral amputation, and the male gender. No association was found between the use of training prosthesis and discharge destination, functional level, number of socket modifications, and number of sockets required.
The open-access study, “Outcomes of patients with lower limb loss after using a training prosthesis: A retrospective case series study,” was published in the journal Healthcare.
