Outcome Measures Utilized in Physical Therapy Evaluation of Patients with Lower Limb Amputations in an Outpatient Setting

Research Objectives: To identify the outcome measures most frequently utilized in physical therapy evaluations of patients with lower extremity amputations in an outpatient clinic.

Design: This retrospective, observational study included patients who had undergone transtibial and transfemoral amputation and were evaluated by a physical therapist for prosthetic training between January 2021 and June 2022. Patients with limb-loss were identified and the outcome measures utilized on evaluation were extracted from the electronic medical record by the investigators for data analysis.

Setting: Hospital-based outpatient physical therapy center.

Participants: A total of 54 patients with limb-loss were evaluated for prosthetic and gait training during this period.

Interventions: This is a retrospective study that looked to identify which objective measures were utilized during the initial physical therapy evaluation.

Main Outcome Measures: The outcome measures utilized were as follows: 10 Meter Walk Test, Timed Up and Go, 6 Minute Walk Test, 5 Times Sit to Stand, Locomotor Capability Index, 2 Minute Step Test, 30 Seconds Chair to Stand, Functional Gait Assessment, Amputee Mobility Predictor, 4 Square Step Test, Berg Balance Test.

Results: The frequency of the outcome measures utilized were as follows: 10 Meter Walk Test 83% (45), Timed Up and Go 59% (32), 6 Minute Walk Test 56% (30), 5 Times Sit to Stand 52% (28), Locomotor Capability Index 17% (9), 2 Minute Step Test, 30 Seconds Chair to Stand and Functional Gait Assessment each 9% (5), Amputee Mobility Predictor and 4 Square Step Test 6% (3), Berg Balance Test 4% (2).

Conclusions: This study provides clinical description of specific outcome measures utilized during physical therapy evaluation of patients who have undergone transtibial and transfemoral amputations. Overall research lacks specific psychometric values for this patient population and this study highlights that despite this, clinicians are attempting to utilize tools that measure baseline function to track progress, working in the right direction of evidence-based-practice.

Author(s) Disclosures: There are no conflicts of interest.