Frequency, severity, and implications of shoulder pain in people with major upper limb amputation who use prostheses: Results of a National Study.

BACKGROUND: People with upper limb amputation are potentially at increased risk of shoulder pain because they often perform compensatory movements to operate their prostheses and rely more heavily on their nonamputated limb for everyday activities. OBJECTIVE: To describe the frequency, severity, associated factors, and implications of shoulder pain in people with unilateral major upper limb amputation who use prostheses. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, observational design. SETTING: National recruitment of people living in the community. PARTICIPANTS: U.S. veterans and civilians (N = 107) with unilateral major upper limb amputation. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Shoulder pain (any, ipsilateral and contralateral to amputation), activity performance (Activities Measure for Upper Limb Amputation), health-related quality of life (Veterans RAND 12-Item Health Survey mental component summary [MCS] and physical component summary [PCS]), and disability (Quick Version of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Score [QuickDASH]). RESULTS: All participants completed a comprehensive in-person assessment. Participants were 97% male with a mean age of 57.1 years and a mean time since amputation of 23.4 years. The prevalence of any shoulder pain was 30% (15% ipsilateral, 25% contralateral, 10% bilateral). Shoulder pain intensity (0 to 10 scale) was moderate for both ipsilateral (mean 4.9, SD 2.0) and contralateral (mean 4.2, SD 2.0) pain. No significant difference in shoulder pain frequency was observed by amputation level. The prevalence of any shoulder pain was greater in those using a body-powered prosthesis (38% compared to 18% in externally powered users). Each additional year since amputation was associated with an increased likelihood of having contralateral shoulder pain (odds ratio: 1.05, confidence interval: 1.01, 1.10). In linear regression models, those with contralateral shoulder pain had worse PCS (ß = -7.07, p = .008) and worse QuickDASH (ß = 18.25, p < .001) scores. CONCLUSIONS: In our sample of predominantly male veterans with major upper limb amputation, shoulder pain was a common condition associated with functional and quality of life implications. Among prosthesis users, the shoulder contralateral to the amputation was at greatest risk, with risk increasing with every year since amputation.

The Development and Usability of the AMPREDICT Decision Support Tool: A Mixed Methods Study.

OBJECTIVE: Amputation level decision making in patients with chronic limb threatening ischaemia is challenging. Currently, evidence relies on published average population risks rather than individual patient risks. The result is significant variation in the distribution of amputation levels across health systems, geographical regions, and time. Clinical decision support has been shown to enhance decision making, especially complex decision making. The goal of this study was to translate the previously validated AMPREDICT prediction models by developing and testing the usability of the AMPREDICT Decision Support Tool (DST), a novel, web based, clinical DST that calculates individual one year post-operative risk of death, re-amputation, and probability of achieving independent mobility by amputation level. METHODS: A mixed methods approach was used. Previously validated prediction models were translated into a web based DST with additional content and format developed by an expert panel. Tool usability was assessed using the Post-Study System Usability Questionnaire (PSSUQ; a 16 item scale with scores ranging from 1 to 7, where lower scores indicate greater usability) by 10 clinician end users from diverse specialties, sex, geography, and clinical experience. Think aloud, semi-structured, qualitative interviews evaluated the AMPREDICT DST's look and feel, user friendliness, readability, functionality, and potential implementation challenges. RESULTS: The PSSUQ overall and subscale scores were favourable, with a mean overall total score of 1.57 (standard deviation [SD] 0.69) and a range from 1.00 to 3.21. The potential clinical utility of the DST included (1) assistance in counselling patients on amputation level decisions, (2) setting outcome expectations, and (3) use as a tool in the academic environment to facilitate understanding of factors that contribute to various outcome risks. CONCLUSION: After extensive iterative development and testing, the AMPREDICT DST was found to demonstrate strong usability characteristics and clinical relevance. Further evaluation will benefit from integration into an electronic health record with assessment of its impact on physician and patient shared amputation level decision making.

Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Rehabilitation of Lower Limb Amputation: An Update from the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense.

Between 2015 and 2017, the US Department of Veterans Affairs and the US Department of Defense developed a clinical practice guideline for rehabilitation of lower limb amputation to address key clinical questions. A multidisciplinary workgroup of US Department of Veterans Affairs and US Department of Defense amputation care subject matter experts was formed, and an extensive literature search was performed which identified 3685 citations published from January 2007 to July 2016. Articles were excluded based on established review criteria resulting in 74 studies being considered as evidence addressing one or more of the identified key issues. The identified literature was evaluated and graded using the National Academies of Science GRADE criteria. Recommendations were formulated after extensive review. Eighteen recommendations were confirmed with four having strong evidence and workgroup confidence in the recommendation. Key recommendations address patient and caregiver education, consideration for the use of rigid and semirigid dressings, consideration for the use of microprocessor knees, and managed lifetime care that includes annual transdisciplinary assessments. In conclusion, this clinical practice guideline used the best available evidence from the past 10 yrs to provide key management recommendations to enhance the quality and consistency of rehabilitation care for persons with lower limb amputation.

Department of Veterans Affairs Polytrauma Telerehabilitation: Twenty-First Century Care.

The use of telehealth for the management of the polytrauma patient provides a unique opportunity to leverage technology to enhance care for a complex patient cohort, to assist in clinical care, and to enhance support for community reintegration for veteran patients. Telehealth connects experts to patients in remote or underserved areas, thereby decreasing a health care disparity. This is especially important when the rehabilitation team is multidisciplinary. The future of telerehabilitation is unknown and implementing virtual care into rehabilitation providers' standard practice will be impeded until state licensure and payment issues are resolved.

Reintegrating Veterans with Polytrauma into the Community and Workplace.

This article addresses employment as a critical part of community reintegration for polytrauma patients. Interdisciplinary polytrauma teams can work to effectively identify and eliminate known barriers to employment for veterans and offer continued support and guidance. This article discusses key themes pertinent to vocational reentry for service members/veterans, identifies evidenced-based employment models, highlights the essential role of everyday technology in meeting support needs, and describes 2 exemplar polytrauma models: the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Service member Transitional Advanced Rehabilitation (STAR) program at the Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia.

Lower Limb Amputation Care Across the Active Duty Military and Veteran Populations.

Traumatic amputation can result from injuries sustained both within and outside the military setting. Individuals with trauma-related amputations have unique needs and require specialized management with an interdisciplinary team approach and care coordination across the continuum of care to facilitate optimal outcomes. Management considerations include issues with the amputation itself, issues related to injury of other body parts, and the management of longer-term secondary conditions. Some of these issues are more prevalent and of greater severity in the early recovery period, whereas others develop later and have the potential for progressive worsening over time.

Gait and Functional Outcomes for Young, Active Males With Traumatic Unilateral Transfemoral Limb Loss.

OBJECTIVE: Altered body structures that occur with the loss of a lower limb can impact mobility and quality of life. Specifically, biomechanical changes that result from wearing a prosthesis have been associated with an increased risk of falls or joint degeneration, as well as increased energy demands. While previous studies describing these outcomes are typically limited by number of outcome measures and/or small, diverse patient groups, recent military conflicts present a unique opportunity to collect outcomes from a relatively homogenous, active patient population with limb loss. Thus, the objective of this study is to provide reference outcome measures on the basis of a large, relatively homogenous cohort of military personnel with transfemoral limb loss. METHODS: A retrospective review of biomechanical, physiological, functional, and subjective measures was completed for 67 male servicemembers who sustained an injury resulting in traumatic, transfemoral limb loss during recent conflicts. These individuals represent a defined cohort, capable of exhibiting improved clinical outcomes resulting from demographic characteristics and extensive rehabilitation. Biomechanical and physiological outcome measures for 76 uninjured male servicemembers are also provided to serve as normative reference for full return to function. Select biomechanical and physiological outcomes related to stability, overuse, and efficiency are discussed in the text, on the basis of relevance to clinical gait assessment, in addition to functional and subjective measures. RESULTS: In general, individuals with transfemoral limb loss exhibit decreased stability relative to uninjured individuals, noted by larger peak trunk velocity and step width variability; increased risk of low back and knee joint pain and/or degeneration, noted by larger trunk lateral flexion and bending moments, as well as larger vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) loading rates and impulses, respectively; and decreased efficiency during gait, noted by larger oxygen costs and leading limb mechanical work. CONCLUSION: Although the comprehensive set of measures presented here indicates overall reductions in biomechanical and functional performance with transfemoral limb loss compared to uninjured individuals, these reductions were relatively smaller than existing evidence among populations that are more diverse in age and activity level. Therefore, this data set may be used as benchmarks for young, active individuals with transfemoral limb loss, to assist with setting clinical goals, and to aid in the evaluation of new treatment techniques or interventions. These measures will also be particularly important for subsequent evaluations and longitudinal follow-ups to determine the longer-term impact of transfemoral limb loss on this cohort.

Prosthetic fitting, use, and satisfaction following lower-limb amputation: a prospective study.

Providing a satisfactory, functional prosthesis following lower-limb amputation is a primary goal of rehabilitation. The objectives of this study were to describe the rate of successful prosthetic fitting over a 12 mo period; describe prosthetic use after amputation; and determine factors associated with greater prosthetic fitting, function, and satisfaction. The study design was a multicenter prospective cohort study of individuals undergoing their first major lower-limb amputation because of vascular disease and/or diabetes. At 4 mo, unsuccessful prosthetic fitting was significantly associated with depression, prior arterial reconstruction, diabetes, and pain in the residual limb. At 12 mo, 92% of all subjects were fit with a prosthetic limb and individuals with transfemoral amputation were significantly less likely to have a prosthesis fit. Age older than 55 yr, diagnosis of a major depressive episode, and history of renal dialysis were associated with fewer hours of prosthetic walking. Subjects who were older, had experienced a major depressive episode, and/or were diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease had greater functional restriction. Thus, while most individuals achieve successful prosthetic fitting by 1 yr following a first major nontraumatic lower-limb amputation, a number of medical variables and psychosocial factors are associated with prosthetic fitting, utilization, and function.

Prosthetic fitting, use, and satisfaction following lower-limb amputation: A prospective study.

Providing a satisfactory, functional prosthesis following lower-limb amputation is a primary goal of rehabilitation. The objectives of this study were to describe the rate of successful prosthetic fitting over a 12 mo period; describe prosthetic use after amputation; and determine factors associated with greater prosthetic fitting, function, and satisfaction. The study design was a multicenter prospective cohort study of individuals undergoing their first major lower-limb amputation because of vascular disease and/or diabetes. At 4 mo, unsuccessful prosthetic fitting was significantly associated with depression, prior arterial reconstruction, diabetes, and pain in the residual limb. At 12 mo, 92% of all subjects were fit with a prosthetic limb and individuals with transfemoral amputation were significantly less likely to have a prosthesis fit. Age older than 55 yr, diagnosis of a major depressive episode, and history of renal dialysis were associated with fewer hours of prosthetic walking. Subjects who were older, had experienced a major depressive episode, and/or were diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease had greater functional restriction. Thus, while most individuals achieve successful prosthetic fitting by 1 yr following a first major nontraumatic lower-limb amputation, a number of medical variables and psychosocial factors are associated with prosthetic fitting, utilization, and function.

The road to recovery and rehabilitation for injured service members with limb loss: a focus on Iraq and Afghanistan.

Amputation of an extremity due to traumatic injury or a vascular occlusive disease is a life-altering event that occurs when limb salvage is not possible. While an amputation is viewed as a life saving procedure clinically, limb deficiency may result in an immediate loss in social, physical and financial well-being for the patient. Military personnel returning from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom face unique challenges due to short residual limbs, unplanned amputations, high incidences of multiple limb loss, and accustomed activity levels prior to an amputation. The primary rehabilitation goal for these individuals is to provide them with an expedited recovery and progressive reintroduction into the civilian or active duty population. It is the purpose of this review to discuss the most frequent rehabilitation hardships service members endure following combat related trauma and future of prosthetic limb technology.

Bioelectric analyses of an osseointegrated intelligent implant design system for amputees.

The projected number of American amputees is expected to rise to 3.6 million by 2050. Many of these individuals depend on artificial limbs to perform routine activities, but prosthetic suspensions using traditional socket technology can prove to be cumbersome and uncomfortable for a person with limb loss. Moreover, for those with high proximal amputations, limited residual limb length may prevent exoprosthesis attachment all together. Osseointegrated implant technology is a novel operative procedure which allows firm skeletal attachment between the host bone and an implant. Preliminary results in European amputees with osseointegrated implants have shown improved clinical outcomes by allowing direct transfer of loads to the bone-implant interface. Despite the apparent advantages of osseointegration over socket technology, the current rehabilitation procedures require long periods of restrictive load bearing prior which may be reduced with expedited skeletal attachment via electrical stimulation. The goal of the osseointegrated intelligent implant design (OIID) system is to make the implant part of an electrical system to accelerate skeletal attachment and help prevent periprosthetic infection. To determine optimal electrode size and placement, we initiated proof of concept with computational modeling of the electric fields and current densities that arise during electrical stimulation of amputee residual limbs. In order to provide insure patient safety, subjects with retrospective computed tomography scans were selected and three dimensional reconstructions were created using customized software programs to ensure anatomical accuracy (Seg3D and SCIRun) in an IRB and HIPAA approved study. These software packages supported the development of patient specific models and allowed for interactive manipulation of electrode position and size. Preliminary results indicate that electric fields and current densities can be generated at the implant interface to achieve the homogenous electric field distributions required to induce osteoblast migration, enhance skeletal fixation and may help prevent periprosthetic infections. Based on the electrode configurations experimented with in the model, an external two band configuration will be advocated in the future.

Incorporation of core competency questions into an annual national self-assessment examination for residents in physical medicine and rehabilitation: results and implications.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the performance and change over time when incorporating questions in the core competency domains of practice-based learning and improvement (PBLI), systems-based practice (SBP), and professionalism (PROF) into the national PM&R Self-Assessment Examination for Residents (SAER). DESIGN: Prospective, longitudinal analysis. SETTING: The national Self-Assessment Examination for Residents (SAER) in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, which is administered annually. PARTICIPANTS: Approximately 1100 PM&R residents who take the examination annually. INTERVENTIONS: Inclusion of progressively more challenging questions in the core competency domains of PBLI, SBP, and PROF. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Individual test item level of difficulty (P value) and discrimination (point biserial index). RESULTS: Compared with the overall test, questions in the subtopic areas of PBLI, SBP, and PROF were relatively easier and less discriminating (correlation of resident performance on these domains compared with that on the total test). These differences became smaller during the 3-year time period. The difficulty level of the questions in each of the subtopic domains was raised during the 3 year period to a level close to the overall exam. Discrimination of the test items improved or remained stable. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that, with careful item writing and review, multiple-choice items in the PBLI, SBP, and PROF domains can be successfully incorporated into an annual, national self-assessment examination for residents. The addition of these questions had value in assessing competency while not compromising the overall validity and reliability of the exam. It is yet to be determined if resident performance on these questions corresponds to performance on other measures of competency in the areas of PBLI, SBP, and PROF.

Effectiveness of resonance frequency in predicting orthopedic implant strength and stability in an in vitro osseointegration model.

Developing noninvasive tools that determine implant attachment strength to bone and monitor implant stability over time will be important to optimize rehabilitation protocols following insertion of osseointegrated implants in patients with limb loss. While resonance frequency has been previously shown to correlate with implant stability in dental implants placed in the mandible and maxilla, this tool has not been evaluated with implants placed in the medullary canal of long bones. In an in vitro model used to simulate irregular medullary canal implant contact and osseointegration, a strong positive correlation was determined between resonance frequency implant stability quotient values and the force required for implant pushout. The force required for implant displacement also correlated to the distance from the point of fixation to the transducer at the proximal end of the implant (point of resonance frequency monitoring).

Research activities and perspectives of individuals completing a research enrichment program for physiatrists.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the research activity and perspectives, and the predictors and barriers to research activity, in a cohort of individuals completing a research enrichment program for physiatrists. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study design was utilized. Data collection was accomplished with a mailed survey, which was sent to 68 individuals who had completed the Research Enrichment Program for Physiatrists between 1991 and 1998. Data analysis was performed using both descriptive and inferential statistical methods. RESULTS: Eighty-five percent (58 of 68) of surveys were completed and returned. The majority of respondents were in academic-based practice (83%) at the assistant professor level (59%). Sixty-nine percent of the group reported spending no time in research, and 64% reported having no "protected" time for research. The mean number of peer-reviewed journal publications was 2.4, and the average number of research grants was 1.6, with 57% of the cohort reporting no grant funding. Departmental PhD, statistical, and secretarial support for research were all noted to be inadequate or not available for >50% of the cohort. High demand for clinical productivity, lack of protected research time, and lack of research funding were all identified as major barriers to research activity. Cluster analysis found greater research time and support to be associated with measures of research productivity. CONCLUSION: Long-term research success seems to require ongoing support, funding, and mentorship at the departmental and institutional level. Despite adequate training and motivation for research, research support was perceived as inadequate for many Research Enrichment Program graduates.