Measuring quality of life of patients with PAD who have undergone toe amputations using the Vascular Quality of Life Questionnaire-6 (VascuQol-6) tool

Studies have shown that limb loss has a profound impact on physical, mental, and emotional health. However, the impact of having a toe(s) amputated is unknown¹.  The purpose of this study was to describe health related quality of life using the VascuQol-6 for those with PAD who have toe amputations.

Methodology: A descriptive research design was used to identify quality of life issues using VascuQol-6 tool for those with PAD who have toe amputations who were discharged in 2016 from a level 1 trauma center in the US. The VascuQol-6 tool is a valid and reliable instrument for assessment of health-related quality of life^{2, 3}. It contains 6 questions on a 4-point Likert scale. The total score is achieved by summarizing the score for each question with a total score between 6 and 24. Higher scores indicate better perceived quality of life ^{2, 3}.

IRB approval for a convenience sample of persons with PAD with toe amputations was obtained. Descriptive statistics were used to describe study population with parametric tests to determine if there were any relationships with the independent variables of age, gender, race, and diabetes.   Statistical significance was determined at P <.05.

Results: Thirty-eight participants completed the VascuQol-6. There were 25 males/13 females with mean age of 62 (range of 36-88) years. Total scores for the 38 patients ranged from 7 to 24 with an overall mean of 16 (SD 5.39) showing that patients in this study had quality of life issues but the independent variables of age, gender, race, and diabetes were not statistically significant. 

Conclusion: Studies have shown that limb loss can affect quality of life. However, quality of life studies related to toe amputation are nonexistent. This study demonstrated that PAD patients with toe amputations have quality of life issues that should be addressed.