title: [Quality of life after survival of severe trauma].
abstract: Quality of life (QoL) was analyzed in 73 patients with severe multiple trauma (PTS > or = 40 patients) between 1 and 13 years after injury. QoL was assessed by the Aachen Longtime Outcome Score (ALOS), the Spitzer Index (SI) and individual self-assessment. The patients were asked about further social, financial, psychological and physical items. According to the ALOS, 81% of the patients showed moderate, 14% severe and 5% no disability. In 66% of the patients a favorable Spitzerindex (8-10 points) was found. Only 14% had poor SI scores (0-4 points). Also, two out of three patients regarded the current state of their health as "good" or "very good". Predominantly, handicaps resulted from permanent physical disability, in particular the lower extremities, whereas psychosocial and financial problems were reported infrequently. Besides injuries to the head or extremities, low QoL correlated with severity of injury and increasing age. Within the first 4 post-traumatic years SI and ALOS, as well as individual self-assessment, improved with time after injury. The rate of patients who returned to work (69%) was similar to other multiple trauma series, including series with less severe injuries. The reasonable long-term outcome even after severe multiple trauma seems to justify the enormous staff and economic expense required to manage these patients. Further improvement in QoL may be achieved by professional psychological support and early fracture treatment.
authors.affiliation: Chirurgische Klinik mit Poliklinik, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ott
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Holzer
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Spitzenpfeil
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kastl
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rupprecht
authors.forename: F F
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Hennig
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017281:Cost of Illness; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011788:Quality of Life; D012803:Sick Role; D016896:Treatment Outcome
vernacular_title: Lebensqualität nach überlebter Schwerstverletzung.