Phantom pain therapy with salmon-calcitonin and influence on postoperativepatient satisfaction

In this prospective clinical study we examined the intravenous application of salmon-calcitonin in eight patients with severe phantom limb pain (Visua l Analogue Scale = 50-100). The patients presented at the Acute Pain Servic e (APS) section of the Second Department of Surgery, University of Cologne. Six of eight patients (75 %) had no phantom limb pain after 10 days of int ravenous treatment with salmon-calcitonin (maximum of five cycles of calcit onin infusion). Systematic follow-up examinations after 3, 6 and 12 months showed long-term success. Patient satisfaction was examined with a numeric rating scale (NRS 1-6) between the single infusion cycles. When patient sat isfaction was lour, the physician modified the lime period or drug dosage b etween infusions. This study shows good or excellent results in patient sat isfaction for six of eight patients (75%). A prospective randomized trial i s required to verify the excellent results of intravenous salmon-calcitonin in a larger population. Alternative pharmacological and operative treatmen ts of phantom limb pain are critically reviewed and assessed.