Functional Outcomes in Upper Limb Replantation-A Systematic Review.
Andrea Bueno1, Endika Nevado-Sanchez2, Carla Collazo3
1Las Huelgas Health Centre (Burgos), 09001 Burgos, Spain.
Journal of Clinical Medicine
|April 9, 2024
Summary
Evaluating upper limb function after replantation is crucial for assessing success. This review found varied assessment methods, making it hard to compare outcomes and highlighting the need for standardized functional outcome studies.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedic Surgery
- Reconstructive Surgery
- Functional Outcomes Assessment
Background:
- Upper limb replantation aims to restore function, but outcomes vary.
- Evaluating functional recovery is essential for determining surgical success.
- Standardized methods for assessing function after replantation are lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review functional outcomes following upper limb replantation.
- To identify common assessment scales and injury characteristics.
- To evaluate the comparability of functional results across studies.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search in PubMed, ScienceDirect, Cochrane, and Web of Science.
- Inclusion of studies from the last 10 years reporting functional outcomes after upper limb replantation.
- Analysis of 12 selected studies involving 607 patients.
Main Results:
- The Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) and Cochin Hand Inventory (CHI) were frequently used outcome measures.
- Significant methodological variability exists in the scales used to report functional outcomes.
- Difficulty in comparing functional success due to diverse assessment tools.
Conclusions:
- Functional outcomes after upper limb replantation are reported using a wide array of scales.
- Methodological heterogeneity hinders direct comparison of functional success between studies.
- Further research with standardized functionality assessments is necessary to provide robust data.
