PICO QUESTION
The PICO
18
(population, intervention, comparison, outcome)
question guiding the search for evidence for this review was:
In patients exposed to high-energy lower extremity trauma
and limb salvage (P), what functional outcomes can be
expected (O), following use of the IDEO (I) compared to
alternatives such as conventional orthoses or amputation (C).
METHODS
Search Strategy
A search strategy used in several previous prosthetic and
amputee systematic reviews was implemented.
19,20
The
Medline and CINAHL databases were searched via the Ovid
and EBSCO Host interfaces (respectively). Google Scholar
was also searched. Searches were conducted on July 1, 2015,
and were based on the following terms:
— Primary search terms: “ankle-foot orthosis, IDEO or
Intrepid Dynamic Exoskeletal Orthosis, military, and
limb salvage
” (searched independently and in combi-
nation with 1 of the secondary search terms).
— Secondary search terms: “AFO, ankle brace, ground
reaction, energy storing and return, running orthosis,
patella tendon bearing orthosis, posterior strut orthosis,
orthoses, orthotic, return to duty, return to run, lower
extremity trauma, high activity, veteran, high energy
lower extremity trauma, HELET, post-traumatic, lower
limb impairment, integrated orthotic, integrated rehabili-
tation, integrated orthotic and rehabilitation, carbon
fiber, limb reconstruction, and trauma.”
Searches were prelimited using the following criteria:
English language, abstract available, and peer reviewed
(CINAHL and Google Scholar). In Medline, the
“map term
to subject heading
” feature was deselected to eliminate a
medical subject heading (MeSH) term search. In CINAHL,
a default Boolean search was used. A publication date of
2003
–2015 was chosen in all databases as the beginning
of OIF was in 2003. A manual search of included articles
’
reference lists was also conducted in the event of very recent
publications or keywords missed important publications in
the automated search.
Screening
Resulting references were exported to EndNote (vX7,
Thompson, California) bibliographic citation software. Two
reviewers independently screened resulting references
’ titles,
then abstracts, and
finally, full-text articles according to
inclusion/exclusion criteria (listed below). Articles were
then classi
fied as either (i) pertinent, (ii) not pertinent,
or (iii) uncertain pertinence. Full-text articles were then
reviewed for all manuscripts classi
fied as pertinent or uncer-
tain pertinence. Disagreements regarding citations of uncertain
pertinence were resolved by having the 2 reviewers indepen-
dently review full-text articles then discussing and agreeing
on ultimate inclusion or exclusion.
Inclusion Criteria
(1) Peer-reviewed publication;
(2) Study used objective/quanti
fiable outcome measures;
(3) IDEO was utilized as an intervention.
Exclusion Criteria
(1) Endoprosthetic ankle joints (i.e., joint arthroplasty);
(2) Editorial, classi
fication or taxonomy articles; and
(3) Duplicate publication.
Study Data
Data from each article including demographic, anthropomet-
ric, dependent and independent variables, quanti
fiable out-
comes, and conclusions were entered into an Excel database
(Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington). These data
were veri
fied by a multidisciplinary team (i.e., physical ther-
apists, orthotists, epidemiologists, and biomechanists) for
completeness and accuracy. Data were assessed for the abil-
ity to aggregate for descriptive characteristics (i.e., anthro-
pometrics) as well as outcomes (i.e., RTD rate, number of
delayed amputations). Effect sizes (Cohen
’s d), were calcu-
lated for all articles with available data using formulas based
on independent t tests.
21
Controversy exists in the use of this
technique compared with a calculation enabling control for
data dependency. Effect sizes are commonly larger when
data dependency is considered. However, limitations include
requiring more information from source studies (i.e., correla-
tion and coef
ficient between the data under examination).
21
Because the articles reviewed provided limited information,
the calculation based on independent groups was selected rec-
ognizing that this is a conservative approach. Cohen described
effect sizes as small (0.2), medium (0.5), and large (0.8).
21
Quality Assessment
The study design and methodological quality of those publi-
cations that met eligibility criteria were independently
assessed by 2 reviewers according to the American Acad-
emy of Orthotists and Prosthetists (AAOP) State-of-the-
Science Evidence Report Guideline Protocol.
22
Reviewers
discussed pertinent issues until consensus on study design
and methodological quality was obtained for the included
publications. Each reviewer rated each study according to
the AAOP Study Design Classi
fication Scale that describes
the type of study design.
22
The State of the Science Confer-
ence (SSC) Quality Assessment Form
22
was used to rate
methodological quality of studies classi
fied as experimental
(E1
–E5) or observational (O1–O6). The form identifies 18
potential threats to internal validity with the
first 4 (E3–E5)
or 5 (O1
–O6) criteria not applicable for given study classifi-
cations and 8 potential threats to external validity. Threats
were evaluated and tabulated.
MILITARY MEDICINE, Vol. 181, November/December Supplement 2016
70
Outcomes Associated With the Intrepid Dynamic Exoskeletal Orthosis