Effect of a Rehabilitation Program on the Quality of Life of Patients with Lower Limb Amputation

Document Type : Research articles

Authors

1 Medical Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University

2 Vascular Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University

Abstract

Lower limb amputation (LLA) is usually performed as a life saving procedure to remove all
infected, pathologic, or ischemic tissue. Irrespective of the cause of LLA, it has a significant and
dramatic change in a person’s life which has an effect on quality of life of patients due to the physical
activity limitations immediately after amputation and long-term implications in different aspects of
life. Objective: Determine the effect of a rehabilitation program on the quality of life for patients with
lower limb amputation. Setting: This study was conducted in Surgical Units and Vascular Unit,
Department of Surgery, Alexandria Main University and Alexandria Vascular Center (AVC).
Subjects: The study subjects were included 50 adult patients with unilateral major LLA, able to
communicate effectively and agreed to participate in the study. Tools: Two tools were used for data
collection: Preoperative and Postoperative Lower Limb Amputation Assessment Tool and Short Form
36 (SF-36) Health Survey Questionnaire. Results: The study showed that patients in the study group
who received the rehabilitation program had higher scores of SF- 36 health domains than those in the
control group who received routine hospital care. In addition, there was a statistical significant
difference between the two groups in relation to overall quality of life. Conclusion: It can be
concluded that mean scores of SF- 36 health domains improved significantly in the study group
compared to control group after applying the rehabilitation program. Recommendations: The
rehabilitation program should be considered as an integral part in the hospital routine care of
patients with LLA.

Keywords

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics