Patient reported outcomes improve following lower limb prosthesis and socket and replacement

Area of Science:

• Prosthetic engineering
• Rehabilitation medicine
• Clinical outcomes research

Background:

• Prosthetic sockets are crucial for residual limb stability and prosthesis attachment, enabling natural ambulation.
• Improved mobility from prostheses correlates with enhanced quality of life and patient satisfaction.
• While initial prosthesis provision is linked to better outcomes, the impact of socket or prosthesis replacement is less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the changes in patient outcomes following prosthetic socket and prosthesis replacements.
• To assess the impact of replacements on quality of life, satisfaction, and mobility in lower limb amputees.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of a national database from a prosthetic care provider.
• Inclusion of adult patients with unilateral lower limb amputation receiving socket or prosthesis replacement.
• Data collection via validated questionnaires (Prosthesis Evaluation Questionnaire-Well Being, Prosthesis Limb Users Survey of Mobility) and statistical analysis (Student's t-tests, estimated marginal means).

Main Results:

• Significant improvements in quality of life, satisfaction, and mobility observed across all replacement groups (p < 0.01).
• Increased hours worn post-replacement for sockets (p < 0.01), but not for prostheses.
• Vascular disease, diabetes, and older age were associated with reduced mobility outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Prosthetic socket and prosthesis replacements lead to significant improvements in mobility and well-being for lower limb amputees.
• These findings support the clinical importance of replacements for enhancing patient outcomes and optimizing prosthetic care.
• Evidence supports prioritizing prosthetic replacements to improve long-term health and quality of life for amputees.