Research status of phantom limb pain: based on CiteSpace analysis

Objective The CiteSpace visual analysis software is used to explore the hotspots and frontiers of researches on phantom limb pain. Methods: Using literature visualization tool CiteSpace, we have analyzed the literature on “phantom limb pain” collected by English WOS database from 2000 to 2020, to summarize the status quo and trend of phantom limb pain research in the past two decades. Results: A total of 1542 international literatures are obtained. Researchers mainly focus on the pathological mechanisms and clinical treatment methods of different types of phantom limb pain. Furthermore, most authors prefer small-scale collaborative research. Most of academic achievements published by universities in Britain, Germany and the United States, and the United States is in a leading position in academic research. In addition, the classical and key literatures in the field of phantom limb pain mainly focus on the central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, cortical reorganization and other pathological mechanisms, as well as drug therapy and a variety of physical therapy. Conclusion: The CiteSpace-based analysis can provide a more objective and scientific understanding of the research status, hotspots and frontiers of phantom limb pain, which is of great significance to its future research.