A Population-Based Study of Replantation After Traumatic Thumb Amputation, 2007–2012

Purpose The recommended surgical treatment after thumb amputation is replantation. In the United States, fewer than 40% of thumb amputation injuries are replanted, and little is known about factors associated with the probability of replantation. We aimed to investigate recent trends and examine patient and hospital characteristics that are associated with increased probability of attempted thumb replantation. We hypothesized that higher-volume teaching hospitals and level-I trauma centers attempted more replantations. Methods We used 2007–2012 data from the National Trauma Data Bank. Our final sample included 2,206 traumatic thumb amputation patients treated in 1 of 365 centers during the study period. First, we used a 2-level hierarchical logistic model to estimate the odds of replantation. In addition, we used a treatment effect estimation method, with the inverse propensity score weighting to examine the difference in thumb replantation if the only variation among patients was their presumptive payer. Results There was a higher probability of attempted replantation at teaching hospitals than nonteaching hospitals (odds ratio [OR], 1.40). Patients were less likely to undergo replantation at a level II (OR, 0.53) or a level III (OR, 0.33) trauma center. The uninsured were less likely to undergo replantation (OR, 0.61) than those with private insurance. Conclusions Having insurance coverage and being treated in a high-volume, teaching, level-I trauma hospital increased the odds of replantation after traumatic thumb amputation. Regionalization may lead to a higher number of indicated cases of replantation actually being attempted. Type of study/level of evidence Therapeutic II.