Objective: To determine the causes and patterns of traumatic and non-traumatic major limb amputations among civilian population attending a military amputee rehabilitation center.
Study design: Cross-sectional descriptive study.
Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at the amputee rehabilitation department, Armed Forces Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (AFIRM) Rawalpindi, Pakistan from July 2007 to December 2013.
Material and Methods: Civilian patients of all age groups and gender with one or more major limb amputations due to any cause, who reported for the first time for provision of pros thesis were registered for the study after informed consent. Basic demographics including age, gender and ethnicity based on provinces and clinical data, taking account of level, side and cause of amputation were recorded. The sample was divided into two groups i.e. group-1 (age ≤ 40 years) and group-2 (age >40 years).
Results: A total of 146 patients were enrolled in the study. The age ranged between 1-80 years (mean 37±19). Majority were male (70.5%), from Punjab province (60.3%) and had a lower limb (LL) amputation (78.8%). Trauma (primarily road traffic accidents (RTA) was the most common reason for amputation (62.3%) followed by diabetes mellitus. Amputees in age group ≤ 40 years were more likely to have a traumatic amputation and an upper limb (UL) amputation while amputees in the age group > 40 years were more likely to have a non-traumatic amputation and a LL amputation. Transtibial amputation was the most common level in LL amputation while transradial amputation was most frequent level in UL amputations.
Conclusion: Trauma primarily due to RTA is the foremost cause of amputation in civilian population seeking rehabilitation services at our setup. Majority were male from Punjab province, have a LL amputations and belong to a younger age group. Transtibial amputation is the commonest level in LL amputations while transradial amputation is the commonest level in UL amputations. Amputees in younger age group are more likely to have a traumatic amputation and an UL amputation while amputees in the older age group are more likely to have a non-traumatic amputation and a LL amputation.