Objective: To determine the quality of life of patients after surgical treatment of accidental limb fractures at Le Van Thinh Hospital, Ho Chi Minh city.
Subjects and methods: A prospective longitudinal descriptive study was conducted on 185 patients with limb fractures (upper or lower limb fractures) who underwent surgical fixation and treatment at the hospital from July 2025 to Jan 2026. The patients’ quality of life was assessed using the SF-36 questionnaire through direct interviews at 3 time points post-surgery: 24-48 hours, 1 month, and 3 months. Medical records were also reviewed to collect information on patient characteristics and treatment outcomes.
Results: 50.8% of patients had upper limb fractures, and 49.2% had lower limb fractures. The main causes were traffic accidents (53.5%) and daily life accidents (31.9%). Complete bone healing was observed in 88.1% of cases, partial healing in 9.7%, and non-union in 2.2%. The mean quality of life score before surgery was 44.4 ± 9.1 points, which significantly increased to 77.9 ± 9.8 points 3 months after surgery (p < 0.05). Higher overall post-operative quality of life was significantly associated with male sex, age < 30 years, upper limb fractures, operative time ≤ 120 minutes, and complete bone union (p < 0.05). Correlation analysis revealed that quality of life was positively correlated with lower extremity functional scale (LEFS) (r = 0.44) and negatively correlated with visual analog scale (VAS) pain intensity (r = -0.55) and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) scores (r = -0.48) (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Clinical protocols should prioritize optimizing surgical duration, enhancing rehabilitation, and providing psychological support. Particular attention should be directed toward high-risk groups, including the elderly, females, and patients with incomplete bone union, to comprehensively improve post-operative quality of life.