Self-Reported Functional Status in US Service Members After Combat-Related Amputation

The objective of this study was to describe the functional status of US Service members after combat-related amputation. This was a cross-sectional analysis of data from a subsample of the Wounded Warrior Recovery Project (WWRP), an ongoing, web-based, longitudinal examination of patient-reported outcomes of injured service members. The study sample included 82 WWRP participants with a combat-related lower extremity amputation who reported using a prosthetic device and completed the Orthotics and Prosthetics Users' Survey Lower Extremity Functional Status, which measures self-reported functional status in participants with a prosthetic device. Basic activities, such as walking indoors, getting on and off the toilet, and getting up from a chair, were reported by the majority of participants as "very easy/easy," whereas higher level activities, such as climbing stairs, walking long distances, or running, were more often reported as "slightly difficult/very difficult" or "cannot do this activity." Functional status varied significantly by amputation site (unilateral below knee, unilateral above knee, or bilateral; P = 0.004), with significantly better function reported in those with unilateral below knee than bilateral amputation (P

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