Sexual Function and Intimacy Outcomes After Upper Extremity Trauma: A Scoping Review Protocol

Sexuality and intimacy after limb loss and major trauma have been studied, but the upper-extremity-specific literature is sparse, older, and dominated by lower-limb amputation cohorts. This scoping review maps the extent, range, and nature of existing evidence on sexual function, sexual dysfunction, intimacy, and related psychosocial outcomes (body image, libido) following traumatic hand, upper extremity, or brachial plexus injury — including traumatic amputation, replantation, and revascularization. It extends our research group's prior narrative review of psychological outcomes after digital replantation (Mastellone et al., J Hand Microsurg 2026), which identified substantial underreporting of psychiatric morbidity in this population but did not examine sexual function as a discrete outcome domain. This review follows the Arksey and O'Malley scoping review framework as refined by the Joanna Briggs Institute, reported per PRISMA-ScR. PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase (including trial registry content via ClinicalTrials.gov), PsycINFO, and Scopus were searched, with title/abstract screening by two independent reviewers. Expected outcomes: a map of the current evidence base, identification of outcome measurement tools in use, and identification of gaps to inform future primary research within this program (an existing prospective cohort study on this topic is already underway).