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AIIMS Manglagiri NO - 2019
Medical & Surgical Nursing
Easy

Pain that can occur in an amputated person is:-

Appeared in: AIIMS Manglagiri NO - 2019

Explanation

  • Phantom limb pain is a specific type of neuropathic pain that occurs in individuals who have undergone amputation.
  • It is characterized by sensations (including pain) that feel like they are coming from the missing limb.
  • The brain's sensory map (cortical homunculus) retains an area for the amputated limb. Nerve signals from the stump, or reorganization in the brain, are misinterpreted as pain from the missing limb.
  • Studies show that 50% to 80% of amputees experience this phenomenon, which can manifest as stabbing, throbbing, or burning sensations.

Why Other Options Were Wrong

  • Option B: Postherpetic neuralgia is nerve pain that occurs as a complication of a viral infection, specifically shingles (herpes zoster). It is not related to amputation.
  • Option C: Trigeminal neuralgia is a specific type of facial pain involving the trigeminal nerve (cranial nerve V). It does not affect limbs.
  • Option D: Causalgia, also known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) Type II, is severe burning pain resulting from a direct injury to a peripheral nerve. While it can occur after trauma, 'phantom limb pain' is the precise term for pain felt in a part of the body that has been completely removed.

Related Visual

Visual explanation — Related Visual
Clinical Relevance
  • Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Neuropathic Pain Syndromes as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
  • A nurse's primary role is to believe the patient's report of pain. Phantom limb pain is real pain, not imagined, and should be treated as such.
  • Nursing interventions include pain assessment, administering prescribed analgesics (like anticonvulsants or antidepressants), and implementing non-pharmacological therapies such as mirror therapy, massage of the stump, and TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation).
  • Patient education is crucial. Explaining what phantom limb pain is can reduce anxiety and fear, helping the patient cope with the sensations.
How to Approach the Question
  • First, identify the key clinical context in the question stem: 'amputated person'.
  • Recall or look for pain syndromes specifically associated with amputation.
  • Evaluate the options. 'Phantom limb pain' is a term directly linked to amputation.
  • Analyze the other options to confirm they are incorrect. Postherpetic neuralgia is related to shingles, trigeminal neuralgia to facial nerves, and causalgia is a broader term for nerve injury pain.
  • Select the most specific and accurate answer for the given scenario, which is phantom limb pain.
Concept Tested & Keywords
  • Concept Tested: Neuropathic Pain Syndromes
  • Stem keywords: Pain, amputated person
  • Lead-in keywords: is
  • Clinical cues: The central clue is 'amputated person', which is directly associated with the specific phenomenon of phantom limb pain.

Question ID

QTPzgoMSJlmUCGQ1MUvb2z

Reference Book

E6 Robert Boland, Marcia L. Verduin - Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Text of Psychiatry-Wolters Kluwer Health (2024) (pp 1-16525 of 16525) p. 8039-8041

E6 Nursing Fundamentals Taylor p. 229-231

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