ReviewFrontiers in surgery2022
Scalp block for postoperative pain after craniotomy: A meta-analysis of randomized control trials.
Review in Frontiers in surgery, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Comparison of the Analgesic Effects of Scalp Nerve Block and Intravenous Ibuprofen Applications Under the Guidance of Nociception Level Index (NoL) in Patients Undergoing Elective Supratentorial Craniotomy
The Efficacy of Regional Scalp Block Local Anesthesia as Preemptive Analgesia in Craniotomy Surgery
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Trial
- Variations in Human Trigeminal and Facial Nerve Branches and Foramina Identified by Dissection and Microcomputed Tomography.Clinical anatomy (New York, N.Y.) · 2026Article
- Neuropathic Cranial Pain Phenotypes After Craniotomy: A Large, Single-Center Retrospective Cohort Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Article
- Regional scalp block for post-craniotomy pain management in children: a scoping review.Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery · 2025Article
- Postoperative Pain Trajectories After Craniotomy in Brain Tumor Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study of Intensity and Characteristics.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Article
- Superficial Cervical Plexus Block for Postoperative Pain Management in Occipital Craniotomies: A Narrative Review.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Scalp block versus intravenous parecoxib for post-operative cranioplasty surgery pain: A comparison of pain scores and morphine requirements.Surgical neurology international · 2025Article
- Perioperative management of hemorrhagic stroke in morbidly obese patients: A narrative review.Surgical neurology international · 2025Review
- Ultrasound-Guided Occipital Nerve Blocks as Part of Multi-Modal Perioperative Analgesia in Pediatric Posterior Craniotomies: A Case Series.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Postoperative pain after craniotomy is an important clinical concern because it might lead to brain hyperemia and elevated intracranial pressure. Considering the side effects of opioid, several studies have been conducted to investigate the effect of local anesthetics, especially the scalp block, on postoperative pain. However, the strength of evidence supporting this practice for postoperative pain after craniotomy was unclear and the best occasion of scalp block was also not identified. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and the best occasion of scalp block for postoperative pain after craniotomy. Methods: PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library databases from database inception to October 10, 2021 were searched for all randomized controlled trials evaluating the effect of scalp block on postoperative pain after craniotomy. Data were assessed by StataMP 16 software. Results: A total of 12 studies were included. A random-effect model was used to analyze all data. Patients under scalp block earned fewer scores than the non-scalp block group in visual analogue scale at the very early period (MD = -1.97, 95% CI = -3.07 to -0.88), early period (MD = -1.84, 95% CI = -2.95 to -0.73) and intermediate period (MD = -1.16, 95% CI = -1.84 to -0.49). Scalp block could also significantly prolong the time of the first request of rescue analgesia and reduce the use of additional analgesics without a significant difference in the incidence of complications. Subgroup analysis showed there was no significant difference in analgesia effect between pre-incision scalp block and post-incision scalp block in all periods. Conclusion: Scalp block could lead to lower pain intensity scores, more time of the first request of rescue analgesia, and fewer analgesic drugs applied in the first 12 h after craniotomy. There was no significant difference between pre-incision and post-incision scalp block in the occurrence and severity of postoperative pain.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.