Ilfeld BM, Khatibi B, Maheshwari K, et al. - As per considerations, reentrant neural pathways, which provoke dysfunctional reorganization in the somatosensory cortex, sustain phantom limb pain. It is hypothesized that disrupting reentrant pathways with a 6-day-long continuous peripheral nerve block lowers phantom pain 4 weeks following therapy. Researchers here enrolled patients who had an upper- or lower-limb amputation and established phantom pain and randomized them to receive a 6-day perineural infusion of either ropivacaine or normal saline. The average phantom pain severity as measured with a Numeric Rating Scale (0-10) at 4 weeks was determined as the primary outcome, following which an optional crossover treatment was provided within the following 0 to 12 weeks. They observed an improved global impression of change and less pain-induced physical and emotional dysfunction among patients administered local anesthetic, but there were no differences on depression scores. Outcomes revealed reduced phantom limb pain as well as physical and emotional dysfunction for at least 1 month in correlation with providing a 6-day continuous peripheral nerve block.