Improving balance and walking ability in community-dwelling people with lower limb loss: a narrative review with clinical suggestions

Background: Socioeconomic status has been shown to be an important factor in the disparate prevalence and selected treatment of limb loss, but how personal financial difficulty affects patients’ health outcomes is currently unclear. Objective: Examining how presence and experience of personal financial difficulty affects perceived health and wellbeing in individuals with lower limb loss. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: A total of 90 participants (68 males, mean age 58.7 ± 16.7 years) were recruited from local physical therapy and prosthetic and orthotic clinics, rehabilitation hospitals, and a regional amputee patient support group. All participants were community-dwelling, non-military adults with amputation involving at least one major lower limb joint. Participants were interviewed, and each completed a survey that included basic demographic/medical information, self-reported health and wellbeing (Short-Form Health Survey, SF-36v2), and a question to determine their financial situation after limb loss. Multiple regression analyses were used to examine the effect of financial difficulty on the eight subscales of SF-36v2 while accounting for age, gender, and amputation level. Results: Experiencing financial difficulty significantly and negatively affected Role-Physical and Role-Emotional subscale scores ( p < 0.01 and p = 0.02, respectively). Individuals with financial difficulty scored approximately 60% lower in these two specific subscales. Conclusion: Experiencing financial difficulty is a significant predictor for diminished work or daily activity participation due to physical and emotional stresses. Clinicians and health policy makers need to understand how socioeconomic factors may prevent individuals with lower limb loss from achieving higher levels of functional recovery and community re-integration after amputation. Clinical relevance Our findings showed that presence or experience of financial difficulty was significantly associated with diminished community re-integration in community-dwelling, non-military adults with lower limb loss. It affects both physical and emotional aspects of wellbeing. Clinicians should be aware how socioeconomic factors may affect social re-integration after amputation.

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The Spectrum of Malnutrition/Cachexia/Sarcopenia in Oncology according to Different Cancer Types and Settings: A Narrative Review

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu13061980 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 1980

Author(s):

Paolo Bossi ◽

Paolo Delrio ◽

Annalisa Mascheroni ◽

Michela Zanetti

Keyword(s):

Nutritional Status ◽

Common Knowledge ◽

Critical Evaluation ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Narrative Review ◽

Current Evidence ◽

Cancer Type ◽

Inflammatory Status ◽

Treatment Type ◽

Modifiable Factors

Nutritional status in oncological patients may differ according to several modifiable and non-modifiable factors. Knowledge of the epidemiology of malnutrition/cachexia/sarcopenia may help to manage these complications early in the course of treatment, potentially impacting patient quality of life, treatment intensity, and disease outcome. Therefore, this narrative review aimed to critically evaluate the current evidence on the combined impact of tumor- and treatment-related factors on nutritional status and to draw some practical conclusions to support the multidisciplinary management of malnutrition in cancer patients. A comprehensive literature search was performed from January 2010 to December 2020 using different combinations of pertinent keywords and a critical evaluation of retrieved literature papers was conducted. The results show that the prevalence of weight loss and associated symptoms is quite heterogeneous and needs to be assessed with recognized criteria, thus allowing a clear classification and standardization of therapeutic interventions. There is a large range of variability influenced by age and social factors, comorbidities, and setting of cures (community-dwelling versus hospitalized patients). Tumor subsite is one of the major determinants of malnutrition, with pancreatic, esophageal, and other gastroenteric cancers, head and neck, and lung cancers having the highest prevalence. The advanced stage is also linked to a higher risk of developing malnutrition, as an expression of the relationship between tumor burden, inflammatory status, reduced caloric intake, and malabsorption. Finally, treatment type influences the risk of nutritional issues, both for locoregional approaches (surgery and radiotherapy) and for systemic treatment. Interestingly, personalized approaches based on the selection of the most predictive malnutrition definitions for postoperative complications according to cancer type and knowledge of specific nutritional problems associated with some new agents may positively impact disease course. Sharing common knowledge between oncologists and nutritionists may help to better address and treat malnutrition in this population.

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The influence of decision making and divided attention on lower limb biomechanics associated with anterior cruciate ligament injury: a narrative review

Sports Biomechanics ◽

10.1080/14763141.2021.1898671 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-16

Author(s):

Gerwyn Hughes ◽

Boyi Dai

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Anterior Cruciate Ligament ◽

Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury ◽

Divided Attention ◽

Lower Limb ◽

Cruciate Ligament ◽

Narrative Review ◽

Ligament Injury ◽

Anterior Cruciate

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Limitations of body mass index for counseling individuals with unilateral lower extremity amputation

Prosthetics and Orthotics International ◽

10.1177/0309364616650079 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 41 (2) ◽

pp. 186-193 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Alexandra P Frost ◽

Tracy Norman Giest ◽

Allison A Ruta ◽

Teresa K Snow ◽

Mindy Millard-Stafford

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Lower Extremity ◽

Health Risk ◽

Body Mass ◽

Body Fat ◽

Lower Limb ◽

Dual Energy ◽

Limb Loss ◽

Percent Body Fat ◽

X Ray

Background: Body composition is important for health screening, but appropriate methods for unilateral lower extremity amputees have not been validated. Objectives: To compare body mass index adjusted using Amputee Coalition equations (body mass index–Amputee Coalition) to dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in unilateral lower limb amputees. Study design: Cross-sectional, experimental. Methods: Thirty-eight men and women with lower limb amputations (transfemoral, transtibial, hip disarticulation, Symes) participated. Body mass index (mass/height2) was compared to body mass index corrected for limb loss (body mass index–Amputee Coalition). Accuracy of classification and extrapolation of percent body fat with body mass index was compared to dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Results: Body mass index–Amputee Coalition increased body mass index (by ~ 1.1 kg/m2) but underestimated and mis-classified 60% of obese and overestimated 100% of lean individuals according to dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Estimated mean percent body fat (95% confidence interval) from body mass index–Amputee Coalition (28.3% (24.9%, 31.7%)) was similar to dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry percent body fat (29.5% (25.2%, 33.7%)) but both were significantly higher ( p < 0.05) than percent body fat estimated from uncorrected body mass index (23.6% (20.4%, 26.8%)). However, total errors for body mass index and body mass index–Amputee Coalition converted to percent body fat were unacceptably large (standard error of the estimate = 6.8%, 6.2% body fat) and the discrepancy between both methods and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was inversely related ( r = −0.59 and r = −0.66, p < 0.05) to the individual’s level of body fatness. Conclusions: Body mass index (despite correction) underestimates health risk for obese patients and overestimates lean, muscular individuals with lower limb amputation. Clinical relevance Clinical recommendations for an ideal body mass based on body mass index–Amputee Coalition should not be relied upon in lower extremity amputees. This is of particular concern for obese lower extremity amputees whose health risk might be significantly underestimated based on body mass index despite a “correction” formula for limb loss.

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Models of home care services for persons with dementia: a narrative review

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s1041610215000137 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 27 (10) ◽

pp. 1593-1600 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Lee-Fay Low ◽

Jennifer Fletcher

Keyword(s):

Case Management ◽

Home Care ◽

Integrated Care ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Narrative Review ◽

Nursing Home Admission ◽

Community Based ◽

People With Dementia ◽

The Impact ◽

Community Based Services

ABSTRACTBackground:Worldwide trends of increasing dementia prevalence, have put economic and workforce pressures to shifting care for persons with dementia from residential care to home care.Methods:We reviewed the effects of the four dominant models of home care delivery on outcomes for community-dwelling persons with dementia. These models are: case management, integrated care, consumer directed care, and restorative care. This narrative review describes benefits and possible drawbacks for persons with dementia outcomes and elements that comprise successful programs.Results:Case management for persons with dementia may increase use of community-based services and delay nursing home admission. Integrated care is associated with greater client satisfaction, increased use of community based services, and reduced hospital days however the clinical impacts on persons with dementia and their carers are not known. Consumer directed care increases satisfaction with care and service usage, but had little effect on clinical outcomes. Restorative models of home care have been shown to improve function and quality of life however these trials have excluded persons with dementia, with the exception of a pilot study.Conclusions:There has been a little research into models of home care for people with dementia, and no head-to-head comparison of the different models. Research to inform evidence-based policy and service delivery for people with dementia needs to evaluate both the impact of different models on outcomes, and investigate how to best deliver these models to maximize outcomes.

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