Injuries increase the amputee burden at the prosthesis centre: a 2-year retrospective survey of amputees in a low-income setting.

The aim of this study is to survey different types of injuries as the cause for prosthesis fitting in the Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (IPM&R). This retrospective chart review was conducted at the IPM&R at the Dow University of Health Sciences, from the year 2007 till 2009. We selected all amputees who got enrolled in our institute for prosthesis fitting with major amputations, during the above mentioned period of time. Informed verbal consent was taken from each patient before recording their data at the IPM&R. Anonymity has been maintained. Data for this study was collected through a structured questionnaire, variables included: gender, age, town of origin, cause of amputation, level of amputation, limb involvement (unilateral or bilateral), level and causes of amputations. The data entry and analysis were done on SPSS (Statistical Package of Social Sciences) version 16.0. Of the amputee burden of our study, 55.9% was due to trauma, which is a preventable cause of disability. This is mostly affecting men in the productive age group. New strategies need to be devised in order to alleviate the burden of amputations resulting from preventable injuries.