Systematic Review of Clinical Practice Guidelines for Individuals With Amputation: Identification of Best Evidence for Rehabilitation to Develop the WHO's Package of Interventions for Rehabilitation

Care Priorities for Individuals with Lower Extremity Amputations: A Patient Delphi Study

OBJECTIVE

To gather preliminary evidence on short- and long-term care priorities for people with lower extremity amputations.

DESIGN

A three-round modified Delphi study using semi-structured interviews.

PARTICIPANTS

A convenience sample of 20 adult participants who had undergone lower extremity amputations at a tertiary public hospital.

MAIN MEASURE

Consensus on each care priority was defined a priori as an agreement of more than 50%. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to understand the rationales for endorsing the care priorities.

RESULTS

Consensus was reached on 24 short-term care priorities and 12 long-term care priorities in the biomedical, practical and psychological and spiritual domains. The rationales for endorsing each of the care priorities generated three themes: preparedness; mental health, psychological and spiritual well-being; and participating in life, with respect and dignity.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results highlight the substantial need to improve patient access to education and planning support prior to undergoing limb amputation, and optimising post-amputation rehabilitation programmes, enabling people with amputations to participate in meaningful life roles that provide them with purpose, dignity, and self-respect. The knowledge of care priorities revealed in this study may promote effective patient-centred care and improve clinical outcomes.

Clinical guidelines recommending prosthetics and orthotics in Sweden: Agreement between national and regional guidelines

BACKGROUND

Despite the presence of both national and regional clinical practical guidelines (CPGs) in Sweden, no previous studies have investigated the quality of CPGs or the level of agreement between national and regional CPGs.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to assess the quality of national CPGs recommending prosthetics and orthotics (P&O) and quantify the agreement between national and regional CPGs in Sweden.

STUDY DESIGN

Literature Review.

METHODS

National and regional CPGs were identified in public databases and by surveyed local nurse practitioners. Quality of the national guidelines was assessed by using AGREE II. Agreement between recommendations in the national and regional CPGs was quantified on a 4-grade rating scale ("similar," "partially similar," "not similar/not present," and "different").

RESULTS

Of 18 national CPGs, 3 CPGs (CPGs of Diabetes, Musculoskeletal disorders, and Stroke) had 9 recommendations related to P&O. The Musculoskeletal disorders and Stroke CPGs had quality scores .60% in all domains, and the Diabetes CPG had scores .60% in 5 of 6 domains according to AGREE II. Seven regional CPGs for P&O treatment were identified. Three national recommendations (in Diabetes CPGs) showed "similar" content for all regions, and 2 national recommendations (in Diabetes CPGs) showed "not similar" content for all regions. The remaining recommendations (Diabetes, Musculoskeletal disorders, and Stroke CPGs) had varying agreement with regional CPGs.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a limited number of national recommendations for treatment within P&O. There was variation in the agreement of P&O-related recommendations in national and regional CPGs, which might lead to unequal care throughout the national healthcare system.

Utilization and Perception of Peer-Support After Lower Limb Loss in the United States: Potential Benefits on Mobility Outcomes

OBJECTIVE

To examine participants' experiences with peer-support after lower limb loss (LLL) and the associations between the peer-support experience (perceived benefits and barriers) and mobility outcomes.

DESIGN

Quantitative and qualitative descriptive study with a cross-sectional design.

SETTING

National survey (distributed to 169 peer-support groups in 44 states in the US).

PARTICIPANTS

The survey was completed by 82 individuals with a major lower limb amputation (53% female, 54% over 55 years of age; N=82).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

A 32-item survey to examine respondents' experiences in peer-support activities. Prosthetic mobility was measured using the Prosthetic Limb Users Survey of Mobility (PLUS-M).

RESULTS

Two out of 3 respondents received some forms of peer-support after amputation. Among them 75% reported peer-support having a positive effect on their outlook on life, and 78% reported that information gained from peer-support was helpful. Companionship, altruistic acts, and gaining information on how to cope with amputation were the top themes of why respondents enjoyed the peer-support experience. Nearly all (94%) respondents would recommend peer-support to other people with LLL. Individuals who received peer-support exhibited a trend of greater mobility (55th vs 36th percentile on PLUS-M; P=.055).

CONCLUSION

Individuals with LLL reported generally positive experiences regarding their engagement in peer-support activities. Peer-support groups are viewed as a helpful source for both information and emotional support, potentially benefiting functional and psychological recovery after amputation. Individuals who have received peer-support also exhibited greater mobility.

Barriers and Facilitators to Cardiovascular Rehabilitation Programmes for People with Lower Limb Amputation: A Survey of Clinical Practice in Canada

Purpose

This study determines barriers and facilitators to including people with lower limb amputation (LLA) in cardiovascular rehabilitation programmes (CRPs).

Method

Canadian CRP managers and exercise therapists were invited to complete a questionnaire.

Results

There were 87 respondents. Of the 32 CRP managers, 65.6% reported that people with LLA were eligible for referral, but of these, 61.9% only accepted people with LLA and cardiac disease, and 38.1% only accepted them with ≥ 1 cardiovascular risk factor. CRP eligibility progressively decreased as mobility severity increased, with 94% of programmes accepting those with mild mobility deficits but only 48% accepting those with severe deficits. Among therapists in CRPs that accepted LLAs, 54.3% reported not having an LLA participant within the past three years. Among all responding therapists and managers who were also therapists (n = 58), 43% lacked confidence in managing safety concerns, and 45%, 16%, and 7% lacked confidence in prescribing aerobic exercise to LLA with severe, moderate, and no mobility deficits respectively. There was a similar finding with prescribing resistance training. LLA-specific education had not been provided to any respondent within the past three years. The top barriers were lack of referrals (52.6%; 30) and lack of knowledge of the contraindications to exercise specific for LLA (43.1%; 31). Facilitators included the provision of a resistance-training tool kit (63.4%; 45), education on exercise safety (63.4%; 45), and indications for physician intervention/inspection (63.6%; 42).

Conclusion

Most of the CRPs surveyed only accept people with LLA if they have co-existing cardiac disease or cardiovascular risk factors. Few people with LLA participate. Education on CRP delivery for LLAs is needed to improve therapists' confidence and exercise safety.

Effectiveness and Equity in Community-Based Rehabilitation on Pain, Physical Function, and Quality of Life After Unilateral Lower Limb Amputation: A Systematic Review

OBJECTIVES

To synthesize evidence for (1) the effectiveness of exercise-based rehabilitation interventions in the community and/or at home after transfemoral and transtibial amputation on pain, physical function, and quality of life and (2) the extent of inequities (unfair, avoidable differences in health) in access to identified interventions.

DATA SOURCES

Embase, MEDLINE, PEDro, Cinahl, Global Health, PsycINFO, OpenGrey, and ClinicalTrials.gov were systematically searched from inception to August 12, 2021, for published, unpublished, and registered ongoing randomized controlled trials.

STUDY SELECTION

Three review authors completed screening and quality appraisal in Covidence using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. Included were randomized controlled trials of exercise-based rehabilitation interventions based in the community or at home for adults with transfemoral or transtibial amputation that assessed effectiveness on pain, physical function, or quality of life.

DATA EXTRACTION

Effectiveness data were extracted to templates defined a priori and the PROGRESS-Plus framework was used for equity factors.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Eight completed trials of low to moderate quality, 2 trial protocols, and 3 registered ongoing trials (351 participants across trials) were identified. Interventions included cognitive behavioral therapy, education, and video games, combined with exercise. There was heterogeneity in the mode of exercise as well as outcome measures employed. Intervention effects on pain, physical function, and quality of life were inconsistent. Intervention intensity, time of delivery, and degree of supervision influenced reported effectiveness. Overall, 423 potential participants were inequitably excluded from identified trials (65%), limiting the generalizability of interventions to the underlying population.

CONCLUSIONS

Interventions that were tailored, supervised, of higher intensity, and not in the immediate postacute phase showed greater promise for improving specific physical function outcomes. Future trials should explore these effects further and employ more inclusive eligibility to optimize any future implementation.

Next-generation devices to diagnose residuum health of individuals suffering from limb loss: A narrative review of trends, opportunities, and challenges

OBJECTIVES

There is a need for diagnostic devices that can assist prosthetic care providers to better assess and maintain residuum health of individuals suffering from neuromusculoskeletal dysfunctions associated with limb loss. This paper outlines the trends, opportunities, and challenges that will facilitate the development of next-generation diagnostic devices.

DESIGN

Narrative literature review.

METHODS

Information about technologies suitable for integration into next-generation diagnostic devices was extracted from 41 references. We considered the invasiveness, comprehensiveness, and practicality of each technology subjectively.

RESULTS

This review highlighted a trend toward future diagnostic devices of neuromusculoskeletal dysfunctions of the residuum capable to support evidence-based patient-specific prosthetic care, patient empowerment, and the development of bionic solutions. This device should positively disrupt the organization healthcare by enabling cost-utility analyses (e.g., fee-for-device business models) and addressing healthcare gaps due to labor shortages. There are opportunities to develop wireless, wearable and noninvasive diagnostic devices integrating wireless biosensors to measure change in mechanical constraints and topography of residuum tissues during real-life conditions as well as computational modeling using medical imaging and finite element analysis (e.g., digital twin). Developing the next-generation diagnostic devices will require to overcome critical barriers associated with the design (e.g., gaps between technology readiness levels of essential parts), clinical roll-out (e.g., identification of primary users), and commercialization (e.g., limited interest from investors).

CONCLUSIONS

We anticipate that next-generation diagnostic devices will contribute to prosthetic care innovations that will safely increase mobility, thereby improving the quality of life of the growing global population of individuals suffering from limb loss.

Development of a Clinical Practice Guideline for Lower Limb Amputees. A Knowledge Translation Process in a Middle Income Country

Background and Aim

Knowledge translation processes are necessary for improving patients' and communities' health outcomes. The aim of this study was to systematically develop evidence-based recommendations for people over 16 years of age who are in risk for or have suffered a lower limb amputation for medical reasons (vascular, diabetes mellitus) or trauma (civilian or military trauma) in order to improve function, quality of life, decrease complications and morbidity.

Methods

Following the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach we developed a Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) for lower limb amputees with funding from the Ministry of Health in Colombia and participation of a multidisciplinary group. We included patients' preferences. Based on the scope, purposes and objectives the questions were elaborated with the PECOT strategy. The evidence search was performed for each question in the main databases: Cochrane Library, Embase and PubMed, without time limit or language restriction. Teams were formed with thematic experts and clinical epidemiologists to review the clinical studies, describe the evidence, and evaluate the quality of the body of evidence with the GRADE methodology. The recommendations were made according to the judgments proposed by the GRADE working group. We conducted a stakeholder's dialogue as a mechanism for the external validation of the guideline implementation.

Results

The CPG included 43 recommendations related to the diagnosis, surgical treatment, rehabilitation, prescription and adaptation of the prosthesis. They were strong in favor 37.2, weak in favor 53.5, strong against 2.3, Weak against 7.0%. Quality of evidence was high in 0, moderate in 11.6, low in 58.1, and very low 30.2%.

Discussion

In 93% of the recommendations, the quality of the evidence was between low and very low. This is why it was so important to validate and discuss each recommendation with an expanded multidisciplinary group. The research group identified 25 interventions and five milestones to be prioritized in the implementation and in the stakeholder's dialogue participants identified opportunities and barriers for implementation of recommendations.

Conclusion

It is necessary to develop a national policy for implementation strategies of CPG recommendations that promotes the necessary arrangements for the provision of services for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of individuals with amputations.