The short musculoskeletal functional assessment (SMFA) score amongst surgical patients with reconstructive lower limb injuries in war wounded civilians

Abstract Background/objectives The MSF programme in Jordan provides specialized reconstructive surgical care to war-wounded civilians in the region. The short musculoskeletal functional assessment score (SMFA) provides a method for quantitatively assessing functional status following orthopaedic trauma. In June 2010 the Amman team established SMFA as the standard for measuring patients’ functional status. The objective of this retrospective study is to evaluate whether the SMFA scores can be useful for patients with chronic war injuries. Methods All patients with lower limb injuries requiring reconstruction were enrolled in the study. Each patient's SMFA was assessed at admission, at discharge from Amman and during follow-up in home country. In the analysis we compared patients with infected versus non-infected injuries as well as with both high and low admissions dysfunctional index (ADI). Results Among infected patients, higher ADI correlated with more surgeries and longer hospital stay. Infected patients with ADI >50 required an average of 2.7 surgeries while those with ADI 50 required an average of 1.6 operations compared to 1.5 for those with ADI