Efficacy of erector spinae plane block for postoperative analgesia after percutaneous nephrolithotomy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Introduction: Erector spinae plane block (ESPB) is a relatively newer approach to the paraspinal fascial plane block. The analgesic efficacy of this block is presently being established in percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). This meta-analysis was designed to assess the effectiveness of ESPB as a p...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ajay Singh, Aditya Prakash Sharma, Venkata Ganesh, Rekha Gupta, Gopal Sharma, Naveen B. Naik, Priyanka Sethi, Narender Kaloria, Prerna Varma
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2025-01-01
Series:Journal of Anaesthesiology Clinical Pharmacology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/joacp.joacp_403_23
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Introduction: Erector spinae plane block (ESPB) is a relatively newer approach to the paraspinal fascial plane block. The analgesic efficacy of this block is presently being established in percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). This meta-analysis was designed to assess the effectiveness of ESPB as a perioperative analgesic technique when compared with conventional analgesia (control) in PCNL. Material and Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on the use of ESPB for perioperative analgesia in PCNL for renal stone disease. A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, and EMBASE using the terms ((erector spinae plane block) AND ((Analgesia) OR (visual analogue scale) OR (VAS) OR (opioid*) OR (morphine) OR (tramadol))) AND ((percutaneous nephrolithotomy) OR (PCNL)) with an intention to include all the randomized studies comparing ESPB with the control group. The risk of bias was assessed using RoB2. Results: A total of 187 records were identified and after the exclusions, a total of 10 trials (560 patients, 503 for primary outcome) were included. Pain scores were significantly lower in the ESPB group as compared to the control group except at the 12th postoperative hour. There were significantly better pain scores at 24 h in the ESPB group as compared to the control group (Standardized mean difference (SMD) −0.46, 95% CI (−1.05, 0.13), moderate GRADE evidence). The total opioid consumption was significantly lower in the ESPB group (SMD −1.50, 95% CI (−1.7 to −1.29, moderate GRADE evidence). Conclusions: ESPB is more effective than conventional analgesia in terms of postoperative opioid consumption after PCNL. Future studies should incorporate better double-blinding techniques, transparent reporting of methods, and sham controls (such as additional dressing post general anesthesia) which were lacking in the current studies.
ISSN:2231-2730