ArticleHand (New York, N.Y.)2025
Regional Anesthesia for Wrist Fractures and Dislocations: Are We Really Blocking Opioid Prescribing?
Article in Hand (New York, N.Y.), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Outcomes After Proximal Humerus Surgery: Does Regional Anesthesia Usage Matter?Journal of hand surgery global online · 2026Article
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of regional anesthesia for the treatment of wrist fractures or dislocation on opioid prescription-filling patterns.
methodsPatients undergoing surgery for hand and wrist fractures or dislocations from 2010 to 2018 were identified by using a national insurance claims database. Patients were stratified by procedures conducted with and without regional anesthesia. Preoperative opioids were defined by a filled opioid prescription within 1 month prior to surgery, postoperative within 1 month following the surgery, and prolonged postoperative 3 to 6 months following surgery. Patients' demographic data, comorbidities, additional medications, 30-day emergency department (ED) visits, and hospital readmissions were analyzed.
resultsA total of 24 598 patients treated with and 115 199 patients treated without a regional nerve block for wrist fractures and dislocations were identified. Regional anesthesia was associated with greater postoperative opioid prescription but fewer prolonged postoperative prescriptions. There was an increased odds of all-cause 30-day ED visits but a decreased odds of 30-day hospital readmissions when patients received a regional nerve block prior to surgery.
conclusionsIn this study, receiving regional anesthesia prior to surgical intervention for wrist fractures or dislocations was associated with increased filling of postoperative opioid prescriptions, but not prolonged postoperative opioid prescriptions. Additional investigation is needed to identify and implement nonnarcotic multimodal analgesia regimens that may help decrease usage of narcotic medications surrounding these procedures. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, retrospective cohort study.
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.