Article

OBJECTIVE: To understand patient- and facility-level characteristics that influence decisions
to admit veterans to a specialized rehabilitation unit (SRU) after a
lower-extremity amputation. DESIGN: Database study.
SETTING: All Veterans Affairs
Medical Centers (VAMCs). PARTICIPANTS: Veterans with lower-extremity amputation
discharged from VAMCs between October 1, 2002, and September 30, 2004.
INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Admission to an SRU.
RESULTS: There were a total of 2922 veterans with lower-extremity amputations;
616 patients were admitted to an SRU, whereas 2306 received consultative
rehabilitation services only. Patients admitted to an SRU waited longer to have
their first rehabilitation assessment after surgery and had middle-range physical
and cognitive disabilities. Patients who received consultative rehabilitation
services only tended to have greater illness burden. They were more likely to
have previous amputation complication, paralysis, or renal failure and either
very severe or minimal physical and cognitive disabilities. CONCLUSIONS: The
selection of veterans with new lower-extremity amputations for admission to an
SRU appears clinically reasonable and based on the likelihood of successful
outcomes.

Langue : ANGLAIS