TY - JOUR
TI - Health-Related Quality of Life and Rehabilitation Costs of Patients with Amputated Limb
AU - Stouka, X.
AU - Stergiannis, P.
AU - Konstantinou, E.
AU - Katsoulas, T.
AU - Intas, G.
AU - Skopa, R.
AU - Fildissis, G.
JO - Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology
PY - 2021
VL - 1337
TODO - null
SP - 237-243
PB - Springer-Verlag
SN - null
TODO - 10.1007/978-3-030-78771-4_27
TODO - amputation;  amputee;  cross-sectional study;  human;  quality of life;  questionnaire, Amputation;  Amputees;  Cross-Sectional Studies;  Humans;  Quality of Life;  Surveys and Questionnaires
TODO - Aim: The aim of this study was the evaluation of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and rehabilitation costs of patients with amputated limb. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study and the study sample, which was a sample of convenience, included 100 patients with amputated limb. The tools of the survey were the Short Form Questionnaire-36 (SF-36) and the Questionnaire used for measuring rehabilitation costs in trauma patients by Stergiannis et al. Results: The sample of the study consisted of 107 patients with amputation. HRQoL significantly increased (p < 0.001) between all-time points. According to the patients’ answers, there were zero costs related to rehabilitation 1 year after the amputation. The type of edge amputation had significant impact on the rate of HRQoL increase. Rehabilitation costs increased over time during the first year. The mean (SD) rehabilitation cost was 1372 (2200) € at the first 6 months and 4774 (9109) € at the second half year. HRQoL was associated with age at all-time points and with costs of purchase of special pharmaceuticals, hospitalization, other expenses, number of medical visits, and cost of phone calls. Conclusions: The economic costs due to the amputation need to be studied as they affect the extent to which an amputated patient can meet his new emerging needs. Therefore, future research should focus in the economic dimension of the amputation in relation with the HRQoL of these patients and their relatives, so that new health policies may be conducted. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ER -