Khyber Medical University Journal (Mar 2019)
CAUSES OF LOWER LIMB AMPUTATION IN PATIENTS REGISTERED AT PAKISTAN INSTITUTE OF PROSTHETIC AND ORTHOTIC SCIENCES PESHAWAR-PAKISTAN
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To find out the main causes of lower limb amputation (LLA) during the four years period at Pakistan Institute of Prosthetic and Orthotic Sciences (PIPOS) Rehabilitation Services Programme (PRSP) Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study evaluated four-year records of the registered LLA patients from PRSP Peshawar for assessment and evaluation from January 2010 to December 2013. The collected data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel, descriptive analysis like means, standard deviation, percentages, range etc, on the bases of age, gender and causes of amputation were calculated. RESULTS: Out of 5820 patient with LLA registered during the study period, 5116 (87.9%) were males and 704 (12.1%) were females. Mean age of patients was 37±19 years and about 67.6% (n=3933) patients were ≤40 years of age. Overall, trans-tibial amputations were common (n=3582/5820; 61.6%), followed by trans-femoral amputation (n=1496; 25.7%). Generally, an increasing trend in frequency of patients with LLA was observed over four years. Major causes of LLA were trauma (61.9%), reconstructive surgeries (15.4%), various diseases (8.2%) and congenital (2.1%). In 12.4% cases, cause of LLA was not documented. Bomb blast injuries (21.6%) and road traffic accidents (14.6%) were main traumatic causes of LLA and diabetes mellitus (4.6%) was the commonest disease-related cause of LLA. CONCLUSION: Majority of patients were males and were ≤40 years of age. Trans-tibial amputations were common. Trauma (mainly bomb blasts injuries and road traffic accidents), reconstructive surgeries and various diseases like diabetes are the leading causes of LLA in patients at PRSP, Peshawar Pakistan.
Keywords
