Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38296871›Full record

ArticleHernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery2024

The impact of opioid versus non-opioid analgesics on postoperative pain level, quality of life, and outcomes in ventral hernia repair.

Ramez Alzatari, Li-Ching Huang, Benjamin K Poulose

Open access · hybridAbstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
2.9field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Pain outcomes in emergent versus elective ventral hernia repair: Propensity score matched analysis.Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery · 2026
    Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Ramez AlzatariDepartment of Surgery, Center for Abdominal Core Health, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA. Ra643821@ohio.edu.ORCID 0000-0003-3145-2547
Li-Ching HuangDepartment of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
Benjamin K PouloseDepartment of Surgery, Center for Abdominal Core Health, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA.
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center · USUniversity College Dublin · IEVanderbilt University Medical Center · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeManaging postoperative pain remains a significant challenge in hernia operations. With ventral hernia repair (VHR) being one of the most commonly performed procedures, this study aimed to compare the effectiveness of non-opioid analgesia to opioid-based regimens for postoperative pain management.

methodsThe Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative was queried for elective VHR patients between 2019-2022. Subjects prescribed opioid or non-opioid analgesics at discharge were matched using a propensity score. Postoperative Hernia-Related Quality of Life Survey (HerQLes) summary scores, Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) 3a questionnaire, and clinical outcomes were compared between the two groups.

results1,051 patients who underwent VHR met the study criteria. The 2:1 matched demographics were opioids (n = 188) and non-opioids (n = 94) (median age 63, 48% females, 91% white, and 6.5 cm hernia length). Long-term (1-year post-operation) patients' pain levels were similar between opioids vs non-opioids (median (IQR): 31(31-40) vs. 31(31-40), p = 0.46), and HerQLes summary scores were similar (92(78-100) vs. 90(59-95), p = 0.052). Clinical short-term (30-days post-operation) outcomes between opioid vs non-opioid patients had similar length-of-stay (1(0-5) vs 2(0-6), P = 0.089), readmissions (3% vs. 1%, P = 0.28), recurrences (0% vs. 0%, P = 1), reoperations (1% vs. 0%, P = 0.55), surgical site infections (3% vs. 7%, P = 0.11), surgical site occurrences (5% vs. 6%, P = 0.57), and surgical site occurrences requiring procedural intervention (3% vs. 6%, P = 0.13). Finally, long-term recurrence rates were similar (12% vs. 12%, P = 1).

conclusionNon-opioid postoperative regimens for analgesia are non-inferior to opioids in VHR patients with similar outcomes. Aggressive efforts should be undertaken to reduce opioid use in this population.

Indexed as

Analgesics, OpioidHernia, VentralHerniorrhaphyPostoperative PainQuality of LifeAgedAnalgesics, Non-NarcoticFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPain MeasurementPatient Reported Outcome MeasuresRetrospective StudiesTreatment OutcomeAnalgesics, Non-NarcoticAnalgesics, OpioidACHQCHerniaOpioidsOutcomesPain

Identifiers

PMID38296871
PMCPMC11450054
OpenAlexW4391383744

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.