Do foot injuries significantly affect the functional outcome of multiply injured patients?
OBJECTIVE: To assess the functional outcome of multiply injured trauma patients with foot injuries and to determine which outcome measures are most appropriate for this assessment. DESIGN: Prospective, matched pair analysis. SETTING: University-affiliated Level I trauma center with a prospectively entered trauma database. PATIENTS: Twenty-eight multiply injured patients with foot injuries were randomly identified in our prospective trauma database (Group 1). The patients in Group 1 were randomly matched in a blinded fashion to twenty-eight multiply injured patients without foot injuries who were selected from the entire group of patients in our trauma database (Group 2). The patients were matched by age, sex, length of follow-up, and Injury Severity Score. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Three outcome tools were used: the Short Form 36 (SF-36), the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and the modified Boston Children’s Hospital Grading System. RESULTS: The out
