Re "Trends in Lower Extremity Amputation Incidence in European Union 15+ Countries 1990-2017".

[Extract] The accuracy of key burden outcome measures, like lower extremity amputation (LEA) rates, is critical to inform healthcare policy. Hughes et al. recently reported long term trends in national LEA incidence rates using Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) estimates. The authors reported that Australia had by far the highest national LEA rates of all countries studied. To our knowledge, Australia has never before been reported to have the highest national LEA rates, and the rates appeared at least twofold higher than those previously published.