SynthesisBMC anesthesiology2023
Analgesic effectiveness of serratus anterior plane block in patients undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery: a systematic review and updated meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in BMC anesthesiology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparison of perioperative analgesic efficacy between serratus anterior plane block and thoracic paravertebral block in adult patients undergoing thoracic and breast surgeries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC anesthesiology · 2025Pooled it
- Ultrasound-guided modified versus conventional serratus anterior plane block as a preemptive analgesic for unilateral video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery.BMC anesthesiology · 2025Trial
- Pain management strategies following thoracic surgery: best practices and innovations.Journal of thoracic disease · 2026Review
- Serratus Anterior Plane Block for Pain Management After Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgeries: A Narrative Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Review
- Effectiveness of Combining Thoracic Paravertebral Nerve Block and Serratus Anterior Plane Block in Non-Intubated Spontaneous-Ventilation Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery: A Retrospective Case-Control Study.Journal of inflammation research · 2025Article
- Best Evidence Summary for Perioperative Pain Management in Patients With Pectus Excavatum.Pain research & management · 2025Review
- Recent Advances in Perioperative Analgesia in Thoracic Surgery: A Narrative Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Comparison of the postoperative analgesic efficacy of serratus anterior plane block with different types of blocks for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Turk gogus kalp damar cerrahisi dergisi · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSerratus anterior plane block (SAPB) is a promising regional technique for analgesia in thoracic surgery. Till now, several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have explored the effectiveness of SAPB for postoperative pain control in patients undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), but the sample sizes were small and conclusions remained in controversy. Therefore, we conducted the present systematic review and meta-analysis.
methodsRCTs evaluating the analgesic performance of SAPB, comparing to control methods (no block, placebo or local infiltration anesthesia), in patients undergoing VATS were searched in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and Cochrane Library from inception to December 31, 2022. Mean difference (MD) and corresponding 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were calculated for postoperative pain scores at various time points, postoperative opioid consumption and length of hospital stay. Pooled relative risk (RR) with 95%CI were calculated for the risk of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) and dizziness. A random-effect model was applied.
resultsA total of 12 RCTs (837 participants) were finally included. Compared to control group, SAPB had significant reductions of postoperative pain scores at 2 h (MD = -1.58, 95%CI: -1.86 to -1.31, P < 0.001), 6 h (MD = -2.06, 95%CI: -2.74 to -1.38, P < 0.001), 12 h (MD = -1.72, 95%CI: -2.30 to -1.14, P < 0.001) and 24 h (MD = -1.03, 95%CI: -1.55 to -0.52, P < 0.001), respectively. Moreover, SAPB conferred a fewer postoperative opioid consumption (MD = -7.3 mg of intravenous morphine equivalent, 95%CI: -10.16 to -4.44, P < 0.001) and lower incidence of PONV (RR = 0.56, 95%CI: 0.41 to 0.77, P < 0.001). There was no difference between both groups regarding length of hospital stay and risk of dizziness.
conclusionSAPB shows an excellent performance in postoperative pain management in patients undergoing VATS by reducing pains scores, postoperative opioid consumption and incidence of PONV. However, due to huge heterogeneity, more well-designed, large-scale RCTs are needed to verify these findings in the future.
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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.