Early PPAM aid use post unilateral transtibial amputation is associated with reduced time to prosthetic fitting and finishing rehabilitation

Impact of PPAM aid use on the time to prosthetic limb delivery in patients with unilateral transtibial amputation: A retrospective analysis

“…3 The findings of this study highlighted variation in the models of care despite previous research suggesting that the PPAM aid should be introduced in less than 10 days postoperatively as that timing was associated with a faster time to reach milestones. 8 The models of care differed among the centers in this study, with only one center consistently providing PPAM aid use as an inpatient. The lack of PPAM aid in inpatient rehabilitation directly affected the process of achieving milestones, and the analysis established that an increased time to reach referral, casting, and fitting is associated with a higher number of outpatient PPAM aid sessions.…”

“…Table 1 details the outcomes from the analysis of the relationships between the dependent variables (1-7) and the independent variables (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13). Frequency had the strongest negatively associated relationship (Table 1) with days to begin PPAM aid use (r (105) 5 20.591, P , 0.05), days to casting (r (105) 5 20.533, P , 0.05), and days to delivery (r (105) 5 20.513, P ,0.05.…”

“…Scott et al investigated whether timing of PPAM aid use affected the outcome of rehabilitation and concluded that use of the PPAM aid within 10 days postoperatively decreased time to achieve prosthetic limb fitting and discharge. 8 Hebenton et al identified that models of postamputation care that comprised intensive inpatient physiotherapy and the use of EWA, including the PPAM aid, decreased the days to discharge and increased the chance of limb fitting. 9 The previous literature suggests a lack of consistency of physiotherapy management of patients with TTA.…”