Phantom pain: epidemiology and etiopathogenesis

Phantom pain (PP) represents a pathological pain sensation that emerges in a person regarding a body part lost due to amputation or even naturally absent. PP occurs after amputation of both upper and lower limbs and can significantly impair patient's quality of life. Although PP descriptions have been reported since the 16th century, the precise underlying causes and pathogenesis remain obscure. Several factors, such as the site of amputation and the presence of pre-surgery pain, are associated with PP development. There are continued discussions regarding a role played by the central and peripheral nervous systems in arising PP, so that a relation between the former and neural network rewiring remain debated. The current review assesses PP epidemiology, as well as various theories behind its pathogenesis. In this context, publications included in the scientometric databases PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, and eLibrary were analyzed.