The prevalence of phantom limb pain and associated risk factors in people with amputations: a systematic review protocol

Abstract

BackgroundThe prevalence of phantom limb pain (PLP) in people with amputations is unclear because of the conflicting reports across the literature. It is proposed that the conflicting reports on the prevalence of PLP are a consequence of variations in the time period during which the studies were undertaken, countries in which the studies were conducted and recruitment processes implemented during collection of epidemiological data. In consideration of these factors, we aim to gather and critically appraise relevant literature to determine the prevalence estimate of and risk factors for PLP in people with amputations.MethodsWe will use a customised search strategy containing relevant words and terms to search the following databases: MEDLINE/PubMed (via EBSCOhost), PsycINFO (via EBSCOhost), PsycArticles, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) (via EBSCOhost), Africa-Wide Information (via EBSCOhost), Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition (via EBSCOhost) SCOPUS, Web of Science and Academic Search Premier (via EBSCOhost). The risk of bias assessment will be conducted using a risk of bias assessment tool for prevalence studies, and data will be extracted using a piloted customised data extraction sheet. Data extracted from individual studies will be entered into Review Manager 5 and assessed for clinical and statistical heterogeneity. Studies will be pooled for meta-analysis using the random-effects model to determine a summary estimate of the prevalence of PLP across included studies. A statistically significant level will be set at p < 0.05.DiscussionAs far as we know, a systematic review and meta-analysis on the prevalence of, and risk factors for PLP in people with amputations has not been conducted. Given the varying reports in the literature, it is necessary to determine an estimate of the prevalence of PLP to generate an informed conclusion on this subject. The results of this review will be published in an internationally accredited journal and used to inform researchers, clinicians, policy-makers and the public about the burden of, and risk factors for PLP. This will be done with a further aim to improve the quality of pain management in society.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO CRD42018094821Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13643-018-0938-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The prevalence and risk factors for phantom limb pain in people with amputations: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…This systematic review was designed according to the Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines [19]. The review protocol was registered on PROSPERO [ID: CRD42018094821], and published in Systematic Reviews [15]. The PRISMA criteria fulfilled by this systematic review are presented in S1 File.…”

“…The high PLP prevalence could be explained by these risk factors, which are typically absent in people with upper limb amputations, who are typically healthy and undergo amputation due to trauma [13]. Studies that report PLP prevalence in people receiving continuing medical care have a selection bias [3,4,14], in that they fail to account for patients not receiving continuing medical care, who may have different prevalence rates [15]. In addition, previous studies suggest that PLP prevalence rates may be lower in developing countries [16].…”

The prevalence and risk factors for phantom limb pain in people with amputations: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…This systematic review was developed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines (Moher, Shamseer et al 2015). The review protocol was registered on PROSPERO - an international prospective register of systematic reviews with health-related outcome, and published in Systematic Reviews (Limakatso, Bedwell et al 2019). The PRISMA criteria fulfilled by this systematic review are presented in additional file 1.…”

Body Schema Self-Awareness and Related Dream Content Modifications in Amputees Due to Cancer

“…In literature, we found suggestions that pre-amputation pain might predispose amputees to PLP [ 60 ]. Recent work has suggested that features related to the amputation, such as pre-amputation pain, stump pain, sleep disturbances, and/or diabetic/traumatic causes of amputation, may be associated with PLP development [ 35 ].…”