Abstract
BackgroundSurgical resection is considered to be the primary and most effective therapy for breast cancer, postoperative pain is an issue gaining significant attention. In recent years, erector spinae plane block (ESPB) has attracted much attention in postoperative analgesia, but its effectiveness is still controversial. This meta-analysis was implemented to verify the clinical analgesic efficacy and safety of erector spinae plane block in patients undergoing breast cancer surgery.MethodsWe searched PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library and ClinicalTrials.gov for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing ESPB with general anesthesia (GA) in breast cancer surgery that were published before December 25, 2020. The primary outcome was opioid consumption at the first 24 h after surgery, while secondary outcomes included pain scores at 1, 6,12 and 24 h after surgery, opioid consumption at 1, 6 and 12 h after surgery, intraoperative opioid consumption, number of patients who need for rescue analgesia, and the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV).ResultsEleven randomized controlled trials involving 679 patients met the study inclusion criteria and were included in this study. In comparison to GA group, the ESPB group showed a significant reduction in morphine consumption at the first 24 h after surgery by a mean difference (MD) of − 7.67 mg [95% confidence interval (CI) − 10.35 to − 5.00] (P < 0.01). In addition, the ESPB group showed lower pain scores than the GA group in the four time periods (1, 6, 12 and 24 h after surgery). ESPB group significantly reduce the intraoperative consumption of fentanyl, the need for postoperative rescue analgesia, and the incidence of PONV.ConclusionsUltrasound-guided ESPB is an effective approach for reducing morphine consumption and pain intensity within the first 24 h after breast cancer surgery, compared with GA alone.
Highlights
Surgical resection is considered to be the primary and most effective therapy for breast cancer, postoperative pain is an issue gaining significant attention
The primary outcome variable was opioid consumption at the first 24 h after surgery, the secondary outcome variables were: pain scores at 1, 6,12 and 24 h after surgery, opioid consumption at 1, 6 and 12 h after surgery, intraoperative opioid consumption, number of patients who need for rescue analgesia, and the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV)
Mean differences with corresponding 95% CI were calculated for continuous data, and risk ratios (RR) combined with 95% confidence interval were calculated for dichotomous data
Summary
Surgical resection is considered to be the primary and most effective therapy for breast cancer, postoperative pain is an issue gaining significant attention. Erector spinae plane block (ESPB) has attracted much attention in postoperative analgesia, but its effectiveness is still controversial This meta-analysis was implemented to verify the clinical analgesic efficacy and safety of erector spinae plane block in patients undergoing breast cancer surgery. The erector spinae plane block (ESPB) is a relatively new regional blocking technique that can be utilized to reduce postoperative pain effectively in various surgical procedures such as breast, thoracic, abdominal and lumbar surgery. It was first described in 2016 by Forero, as a successful interfascial plane block for thoracic neuropathic pain [8]. We aimed to compare pain scores after surgery, intraoperative opioid consumption, the incidence of PONV and block-related adverse events
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