Knee osteoarthritis in the intact- and amputation-side knees of UK military personnel and veterans with traumatic unilateral transtibial limb loss 8- and 11-years post-injury: the ADVANCE cohort

Objective: To compare knee osteoarthritis in people with unilateral transtibial (UTT) limb loss (LL) between (i) intact-and amputation-side knees, and (ii) ~8-years and ~11-years post-LL, and report knee osteoarthritis in reference population.Design: Inception cohort Setting: UK military Participants: Volunteers with UTT LL (n=36) and matched controls (n=36).Interventions: N/a.Main outcome measures: Kellgren-Lawrence (KL; 0-4 [none-severe]) score and Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS; 100-0 [no problems-severe problems]) for Pain and Symptoms.osteoarthritis was worse on the amputation-side knee 11-years post-LL.Modern military populations may be unique in their access to rehabilitation and prosthetic technology, resulting in different patterns of osteoarthritis.Clinical care should focus on the intact-and amputation-side knee of people with UTT LL.