Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38576629›Full record

ArticleCureus2024

Reduced Opioid Use Among Patients Who Received Liposomal Bupivacaine Brachial Plexus Block for Total Shoulder Arthroplasty.

Paulina Szakiel, Nicholas Aksu, Maxwell D Gruber, Kyle Zittel, Brandon Stryder, Evan Argintar

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cureus, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 18% 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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Comparison of Liposomal Bupivacaine versus Bupivacaine in Superficial Parasternal Intercostal Plane Block for Cardiac Surgery with Median Sternotomy.Annals of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery : official journal of the Association of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons of Asia · 2025
    Trial
  2. Review
  3. 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

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Paulina SzakielOrthopaedics, Georgetown School of Medicine, Washington, USA.
Nicholas AksuOrthopaedics, Georgetown School of Medicine, Washington, USA.
Maxwell D GruberSurgery, Washington State University (WSU) Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Spokane, USA.
Kyle ZittelOrthopaedics, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, USA.
Brandon StryderOrthopaedics, Georgetown School of Medicine, Washington, USA.
Evan ArgintarOrthopaedics, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, USA.
MedStar Washington Hospital Center · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose This retrospective cohort explores the efficacy of regional shoulder blocks using Exparel™ in patients undergoing total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA)/reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) to reduce total opioid prescription, refills, and length of stay in the acute care setting. Methods Patients who underwent TSA/RSA by a single surgeon in a three-year period were evaluated. Patients in the case group received liposomal bupivacaine 1.3% brachial plexus block while the control group received ropivacaine 0.5% interscalene brachial plexus block. Outcomes of the study included the number of opioids taken, opioids prescribed, and length of hospital stay. Results Thirty-six patients underwent TSA/RSA between January 2017 and March 2020. Patients who received an Exparel brachial plexus block had decreased opioid use within the first 24 hours after surgery compared to the ropivacaine group, 9.00 ± 14.10 and 26.20 ± 24.8 morphine milligram equivalent (MME), respectively (p=0.0213). Patients who received an Exparel brachial plexus block had decreased opioid prescriptions over the entire postoperative follow-up, 411.00 ± 200.74 MME in the case group and 593.07 ± 297.57 MME in the control group (p=0.0314). Lastly, patients who received an Exparel brachial plexus block had a shorter length of hospital stay, 1.28 ± 0.91 days as compared to the control group's 2.15 ± 1.49 days (p=0.0451). Conclusion This study demonstrates a significant reduction in opioid prescribing and use in patients who receive Exparel brachial plexus nerve blocks compared to non-liposomal local anesthetics, as well as a significant reduction in the length of hospital stay. The data suggest that Exparel use may decrease the risks associated with opioid use while providing adequate analgesia in patients undergoing shoulder arthroplasty.

Indexed as

in-hospital length of stayliposomal bupivacaineopioidreverse total shoulder arthroplastytotal shoulder arthroplasty

Identifiers

PMID38576629
PMCPMC10990875
OpenAlexW4392375854

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.