The Role of Earlier Receipt of a Lower Limb Prosthesis on Emergency Department Utilization.
Taavy A Miller, Rajib Paul, Melinda Forthofer and 1 others
PMID 33010182WHAT IT FOUND
Among commercially insured adults after lower limb amputation, receiving a prosthesis 0 to 3 months after surgery was associated with less emergency department use within 12 months than not receiving one within 12 months.
Falls were also linked to higher emergency department use.
Key findings
01In the model, patients who received a prosthesis 0 to 3 months after amputation were 48% less likely to use the emergency department within 12 months than patients who did not receive a prosthesis within 12 months.
02Patients with a fall or fall-related injury after amputation had 2.80 times the odds of emergency department use compared with patients without such an injury.
03In the sample, 13% did not receive a prosthesis within 12 months, and emergency department use was 30% among those who received a prosthesis and 39% among those who did not.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
This is a claims analysis, so it shows association, not proof that earlier prosthesis delivery causes fewer emergency department visits. The database could not say why some patients received a prosthesis late or never, or whether payer rules, social support, health complications, or other factors were involved. A prosthesis claim shows delivery, not use, so patients may have received a prosthesis and not used it. The outcome was only whether there was at least one emergency department visit, not the number or severity of visits. The study did not measure functional status or events before the emergency department visit. The sample was limited to commercially insured adults in the United States.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that giving a prosthesis within 3 months causes fewer emergency department visits. This was an observational claims study, so it can show association but not proof of causation. The data cannot say why some patients waited or did not receive a prosthesis, whether they used the prosthesis, or how severe their emergency department visits were.