Kellogg College, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, United States.
Facultad de Ciencias para el Cuidado de la Salud, Universidad San Sebastian, Santiago, Chile.
J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2024 Dec;99:486-493. doi: 10.1016/j.bjps.2024.10.025. Epub 2024 Oct 16.
Open lower limb fractures are severe injuries with long-lasting consequences. Limited research has been conducted on the impact of these injuries on quality of life (QoL), internationally.
The Quality of Life after Open Extremity Trauma (QUINTET) study was designed as an international, multicentric, observational, cohort study of patients presented with open lower limb fractures. Demographic and clinical information was collected, along with repeated validated QoL measures. Primary outcomes were SF-12 and EQ-5D-3L, and secondary outcomes were soft tissue infection, deep infection, non-union and amputation.
A total of 92 patients were enrolled in 8 centres, based in the UK, Spain, Chile and Sudan. The mean age at presentation was 54 years, 47 years for males and 64 years for females. Males presented a higher proportion of road traffic accidents as the underlying mechanism, whereas for females, this was the case of low-energy falls. Participant retention was 71.7% and 73.9% for the 3- and 12-month assessments, respectively. There was a substantial reduction in QoL after open fracture, which only partially recovered at 12 months. Participants recruited in the UK presented lower QoL scores compared with patients treated in Spain and Chile.
For this study, international patient recruitment proved challenging, leading to most patients being recruited in the UK. Despite this limitation, we found a statistically significant detriment in self-reported QoL, which did not recover after a year. This study highlights differences in quality-of-life outcomes from a gender and international perspective.
开放性下肢骨折是一种严重的损伤，会带来长期的后果。国际上对这些损伤对生活质量（QoL）的影响的研究有限。
开放性四肢创伤后生活质量（QUINTET）研究是一项国际性的、多中心的、观察性的、队列研究，研究对象为开放性下肢骨折患者。收集了人口统计学和临床信息，以及反复的经过验证的 QoL 测量结果。主要结果是 SF-12 和 EQ-5D-3L，次要结果是软组织感染、深部感染、不愈合和截肢。
共有 92 名患者在英国、西班牙、智利和苏丹的 8 个中心入组。就诊时的平均年龄为 54 岁，男性为 47 岁，女性为 64 岁。男性以道路交通伤害为主要发病机制，而女性则以低能量跌倒为主要发病机制。3 个月和 12 个月评估的患者保留率分别为 71.7%和 73.9%。开放性骨折后生活质量显著下降，仅在 12 个月时部分恢复。与在西班牙和智利治疗的患者相比，在英国招募的参与者的生活质量评分较低。
对于这项研究，国际患者招募具有挑战性，导致大多数患者在英国入组。尽管存在这一限制，我们发现自我报告的生活质量显著下降，一年后仍未恢复。这项研究从性别和国际视角强调了生活质量结果的差异。
