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RecruitingNCT05716321Updated May 7, 2026

Pain and Disability Outcomes in Post Amputation Patients

An observational study in Limb Pain, Phantom, Residual Limbs Pain and Disability Physical, sponsored by Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 89 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-05-07.

Sponsored by Milton S. Hershey Medical Center · Observational

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Apr 2023; still recruiting 3 years 7 months later.
Study type
Observational
Model
Other
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
350
Ages
18 Years to 89 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The objective of this study is to evaluate efficacy of varied medical and procedural therapies used to treat pain after surgical amputation of a limb. The primary outcome will be assessment of pain severity at rest and with movement as measured by pain scores on Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) 0 to 10, where 0 is not pain and 10 is the worst pain possible, taken on post-operative day 1, day 7, 30 days, 90 days, 6 months, and 1 year (+/- 3 days at each time point).

Read the detailed description

The objective of this study is to evaluate efficacy of varied medical and procedural therapies used to treat pain for surgical amputation of a limb.

At present there are number of different type of therapies are performed in the patients who is going through an amputation of any limb for management of their pain adequately such as peripheral nerve block, epidurals, peripheral nerve stimulators etc. However, the effects of these different procedures performed at different time intervals have not been evaluated for their effects on phantom pain and somatic pain long term after the procedures in these group of patients.

We will be collecting the following data from these patients to see if there is any particular intervention done at particular time of the procedure ( before the amputation vs. after the amputation) affect the long term outcome of these patients such as development of Phantom pain, or chronic pain

The primary outcome will be assessment of pain severity at rest and with movement as measured by pain scores on Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) 0 to 10, where 0 is not pain and 10 is the worst pain possible, taken on postoperative day 1, day 7, 30 days, 90 days, 6 months, and 1 year (+/- 3 days at each time point).

The secondary outcomes will be 1) phantom limb pain severity as rated on NRS 2) Residual limb (stump) pain as rated on NRS 3) phantom limb sensations 4) Pain Disability Index scores 5) Morphine milligram equivalents. These secondary outcomes will be assessed at the same intervals as the primary outcome.

This study will help us to find out if there is any utility of any of these procedures performed at particular time of the procedure helps them more than the others for development of somatic or phantom pain.

02

Conditions studied

  • Limb Pain, Phantom
  • Residual Limbs Pain
  • Disability Physical

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Keywords

  • Amputation
03

In context

Phantom Limb

163 studies on the registry are indexed under Phantom Limb; 35 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 350 is above the median of 67 across 25 observational studies indexed under Phantom Limb.

Browse Phantom Limb studies →

Lead sponsor

Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is the lead sponsor of 492 studies on the registry; 60 are open to participants now.

Of its 58 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 46 (79%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 89 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

Patients scheduled for surgical limb amputation at Penn State Hershey Medical Center

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  1. Ages between 18 and 89 years old, inclusive
  2. Patients scheduled for surgical limb amputation at Penn State Hershey Medical Center

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients who cannot cooperate or consent
  2. Patients who cannot understand or speak English
  3. Patients with a history of chronic regional pain syndromes
  4. Patients suffering from alcohol and/or drug abuse -based on previous Dx listed in the MRN
  5. >50
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

BMI (body mass index)

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.

What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.

05

Study design

Observational model
Other
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
350 participants (estimated)
Patient registry
No
06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Pain Severity at rest and movement

    The primary outcome will be assessment of pain severity at rest and with movement as measured by pain scores on Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) 0 to 10 taken on post-operative day 1, day 7, 30 days, 90 days, 6 months, and 1 year (+/- 3 days at each time point). 0 means no pain and 10 means the worst pain ever.

    Time frame: 1 year

Secondary outcomes

  1. Using NRS to rate phantom limb pain change in severity

    The secondary outcomes will be phantom limb pain severity as rated on NRS. 0 to 10 taken on post-operative day 1, day 7, 30 days, 90 days, 6 months, and 1 year (+/- 3 days at each time point). 0 means no pain and 10 means the worst pain ever.

    Time frame: 1 year

  2. Using NRS to rate severity of change in pain

    The third outcomes will be Residual limb (stump) pain as rated on NRS. 0 to 10 taken on post-operative day 1, day 7, 30 days, 90 days, 6 months, and 1 year (+/- 3 days at each time point). 0 means no pain and 10 means the worst pain ever.

    Time frame: 1 year

  3. Using NRS to rate of change in severity of Phantom limb sensations.

    The fourth outcomes will be phantom limb sensations. 0 to 10 taken on post-operative day 1, day 7, 30 days, 90 days, 6 months, and 1 year (+/- 3 days at each time point). 0 means no sensation and 10 means the worst feeling ever.

    Time frame: 1 year

  4. Using NRS to rate Pain Disabiliy

    The Fifth outcomes will be Pain Disability Index scores. 0 to 10 taken on post-operative day 1, day 7, 30 days, 90 days, 6 months, and 1 year (+/- 3 days at each time point). of 0 means no disability at all, and a score of 10 signifies that all of the activities in which you would normally be involved have been totally disrupted or prevented by your pain.

    Time frame: 1 year

  5. The amount of pain medication used.

    The sixth outcomes will be the amount of Morphine milligram equivalents. The amount taken on post-operative day 1, Day 1 to day 7, day 8 to 30 days, 31 days to 90 days, 91 days to 6 months, and from 6 months to 1 year (+/- 3 days at each time point).

    Time frame: 1 year

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Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No — The IPD will be assigned a Study ID to protect the participants PHI. NO information will be shared with other investigators.

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 7, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05716321
Responsible party
Sanjib D Adhikary (Professor of Anesthesiology,, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center) — Principal investigator
First posted
Feb 8, 2023
Start date
Apr 5, 2023
Primary completion
Nov 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Nov 2028 (estimated)
Last update
May 7, 2026

Study contacts

Sanjib Adhikary, M.B.B.S, MD
Contact
sadhikary@pennstatehealth.psu.edu
717-531-6140
Cynthia Reed, BS
Contact
creed@pennstatehealth.psu.edu
717-531-0003 ext. 282465
Sanjib Adhikary, M.B.B.S., MD
principal investigator · Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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