ArticleJournal of hand and microsurgery2024
WALANT vs standard anaesthesia in the management of flexor tendon injuries: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Article in Journal of hand and microsurgery, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- What's New in Wide-Awake Local Anesthesia No Tourniquet (WALANT) Hand Surgery?Journal of hand surgery global online · 2026Review
- Cubital Tunnel Release Under Local and Regional Anesthesia: A Scoping Review.Plastic surgery (Oakville, Ont.) · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Wide awake local anaesthesia no tourniquet (WALANT) surgery has gained increasing popularity in recent years for hand surgery fast-tracked by the COVID pandemic. It involves infiltration of lidocaine with adrenaline to the operative region ensuring a good visual field owing to the vasoconstrictive effects of epinephrine. It has numerous advantages over traditional anaesthetic (TA) for flexor tendon repairs including testing of tendon strength on table as well as immediate revision of the repair if needed. Currently there are a number of studies in the literature evaluating WALANT versus TA in flexor tendon injuries with continuing debate on the optimal modality but no amalgamated synthesis of data. The authors report the first systematic review and meta-analysis on the topic. The authors conducted the review in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement standards (PRISMA) guidelines. All studies comparing flexor tendon repairs under WALANT versus TA were included. The primary outcome measure was range of movement (ROM) with secondary outcomes including adhesions/tenolysis, rupture as well as re-operation rates. OpenMeta[Analyst] software was utilised for data synthesis. Five studies in total met the inclusion criteria with an overall assessment of 624 fingers. There was no significant difference observed between WALANT and TA for tendon rupture; odds ratio 1.027 (0.450, 2.342) p-value = 0.950, the incidence of adhesions/tenolysis; odds ratio 0.601 (0.172, 2.093) p-value = 0.424 or re-operation rates; odds ratio 1.193 (0.544, 2.618) p-value = 0.659. ROM was reported to be better in the WALANT cohort; odds ratio: 1.641 (1.010, 2.669) p-value = 0.046. WALANT offers a safe and effective mode of anaesthetic over traditional modalities with comparable outcomes for flexor tendon repairs. Although ROM appears superior, the number of randomised control trials are currently low and more high quality studies are necessitated to enhance the current evidence base.
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.