Development and pilot administration of the amputation-related pain and sensation assessment tool

To develop and administer an assessment tool for facilitating patient-clinician discussions regarding amputation-related pain and sensation.

An assessment tool was developed to measure the impact of different types of amputation-related pain and sensation on a patient's life. The tool first provides patients with written descriptions and images of three common types of amputation-related pain or sensations: residual limb pain, phantom limb sensation, and phantom limb pain. The tool then asks them to rate the frequency, intensity, and interference of each experience. Participants were also asked to provide qualitative descriptions of these experiences.

Fifty Veterans with lower limb amputation participated in the study. In the past month, 74% reported experiencing residual limb pain, 76% reported phantom limb sensation, and 84% reported phantom limb pain, with 52% reporting all three. Participants' descriptions of some experiences were distinct, while others (e.g., "tingling") were common between experiences. Phantom limb pain had the most varied descriptions.

The amputation-related pain and sensation assessment tool can be used to identify and measure the effects of different experiences on patients' lives, thereby improving the specificity of diagnosis and informing clinical treatment recommendations. Further development of this tool should include evaluating its psychometric properties.