A scoping review on nutritional intake and nutritional status in people with a major dysvascular lower limb amputation

PURPOSE

To systematically review literature on nutritional intake, nutritional status and nutritional interventions, and to study their association with short- and long-term clinical outcomes in people with a major dysvascular lower limb amputation.

METHODS

PubMed, Ovid, CINAHL, and The Cochrane Library were searched. Studies were included if nutritional intake, nutritional status, or nutritional interventions in people with a major dysvascular lower limb amputation were analyzed.

RESULTS

Of the 3038 unique papers identified, 30 studies were included. Methodological quality was moderate (1 study) or weak (29 studies). Limited information was available on nutritional intake (2 studies) and nutritional interventions (1 study). Nutritional intake and nutritional status were assessed by diverse methods. The percentage of people with a poor nutritional status ranged from 1% to 100%. In some studies, measures of poor nutritional status were associated with adverse short- and long-term clinical outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

The percentage of people with a poor nutritional status is inconclusive in the major dysvascular lower limb amputation population, because of the heterogeneity of the assessment methods used. Some included studies reported a negative association between poor nutritional status and clinical outcomes. However, these results should be interpreted with caution, because of the limited quality of the studies available. Studies high in methodological quality and high in hierarchy of evidence are needed.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONThe proportion of people with a poor nutritional status in the major dysvascular lower limb amputation population is inconclusive.Poor nutritional status seems to affect clinical outcomes negatively.More uniformity in assessment of malnutrition in the major dysvascular lower limb amputation population is needed.

The association between pre-operative malnutrition and post-amputation clinical outcomes: A systematic review

Background:

In patients who underwent lower limb amputation (LLA), the prevalence of malnutrition and its association with clinical outcomes are unclear.

Objectives:

This systematic review aims to identify literature and summarise existing information on (1) the prevalence of malnutrition in the patients with LLA and (2) the association between pre-operative nutritional status and post-surgery clinical outcomes in patients who require amputation.

Methods:

A search was conducted in four electronic databases (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed, CINAHL and Scopus) to identify eligible studies. The search strategy was based on keywords – amputation, malnutrition and undernutrition. Article were included regardless of the study design; and if they were written in English; included adult patients with lower limb or foot amputation; and performed pre-amputation nutrition assessments.

Results:

Seven articles met the eligibility criteria. Malnutrition was assessed by biochemistry and/or anthropometry – none of which are validated nutrition assessment tools. Nevertheless, abnormal biochemistry and/or anthropometry results were associated with delayed wound healing, complications and failed amputation compared to normal ranges. The association between abnormal biochemistry and/or anthropometry parameters and mortality was less consistent. Only one study used a validated nutrition screen tool and found half of the population with LLA were at risk of malnutrition, but no association was reported.

Conclusions:

The association between malnutrition and clinical outcomes in patients who underwent LLA remains unclear as all the eligible studies that investigated association used unvalidated nutrition assessment tools. There is an urgent need to address this knowledge gap in future research.

Ankle Disarticulation: An Underutilized Approach to Staged Below Knee Amputation-Case Series and Surgical Technique

The staged approach to below knee amputation has proven to be an effective method of achieving functionality after amputation and reducing risk for postamputation complications. Transtibial or "guillotine" amputations are often used as the first-stage amputation. Disarticulation at the ankle joint is an alternative method that can be used with favorable results and benefits. These include rapid infection decompression while minimizing the blood loss of traditional tibial osteotomy. Here we describe our operative technique, perioperative management, and indications for this surgical procedure.