A study of psychiatric comorbidity after traumatic limb amputation: A neglected entity

Amputation following trauma is emerging as a major health burden on the medical services and on the families and the society as well. Loss of limbs causes inability to support self and the family that further leads to various psychiatric disorders in many patients. Therefore, the present study is planned to explore psychiatric comorbidity in patients with amputation following trauma.

Fifty-nine amputees were recruited by consecutive sampling within 6-month period from amputation clinic of a tertiary care hospital. All participants were interviewed on a semi-structured pro forma of sociodemographic and amputation-related parameters and assessed on psychiatric comorbidity using Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview scale.

Majority of the patients were male (88.1%) and belonged to younger age group of 16-30 years (71.2%). Approximately, 97% of patients had single-limb amputation (96.6), predominantly right limb (55.9%). Lower limb amputation was noted in 79.7% of participants. Motor vehicle accident was the most common mode of injury followed by railway track injury and others. The most common psychiatric comorbidities in our sample were major depressive disorder (71.2%), suicidality (30.5%), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (20.3%). PTSD was positively correlated with phantom sensation (r_s = 0.295, P = 0.05) and phantom pain (r_s = 0.279, P < 0.05).

A substantial proportion of amputees had alarming sign of depression, suicidal ideation, and PTSD. Thus, there is a need to form liaison between surgical treatment providers and psychiatrists and psychologists to manage psychiatric comorbidity in amputees.