Identifying baseline pain indicators for phantom limb pain in amputee patients

Abstract

This quality improvement project identified significant gaps in the documentation of phantom limb pain (PLP) among amputee patients, revealing that PLP was often absent from formal diagnosis lists and that pain assessments were frequently incomplete. By retrospectively reviewing 32 inpatient charts, the project highlighted the need for standardized, multidimensional pain assessment tools and improved electronic health record practices to support accurate evaluation and future implementation of virtual reality (VR) therapies for PL