Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39844878›Full record

ReviewCureus2025

Analgesic Efficacy of Gabapentin in Patients Undergoing Carpal Tunnel Release Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trials.

Muteb N Alotaibi, Ohood Y Alasmari, Omar E Elshaer, Ibrahim S Allehaimeed, Hajar A Alharbi, Amal A Alsubaiei, Abdullah M Alharran, Abdulmuhsen Alqallaf, Mohammed Alshammari, Abdullah Alhuwailah and 1 more

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

11 authors.

Muteb N AlotaibiMedicine and Surgery, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, SAU.
Ohood Y AlasmariMedicine and Surgery, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, SAU.
Omar E ElshaerMedicine and Surgery, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, SAU.
Ibrahim S AllehaimeedGeneral Medicine, Qassim Health Cluster, Buraydah, SAU.
Hajar A AlharbiMedicine and Surgery, Qassim University, Buraydah, SAU.
Amal A AlsubaieiMedicine and Surgery, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, BHR.
Abdullah M AlharranMedicine and Surgery, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, BHR.
Abdulmuhsen AlqallafMedicine and Surgery, Kuwait Institute for Medical Specializations, Kuwait City, KWT.
Mohammed AlshammariMedicine and Surgery, Kuwait Institute for Medical Specializations, Kuwait City, KWT.
Abdullah AlhuwailahMedicine and Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, EGY.
Ahmed F AlFalehOrthopedic Surgery, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz University Hospital, Riyadh, SAU.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) results from median nerve compression and may lead to significant pain. Surgical management through release is the gold standard approach for severe CTS patients. Gabapentin is used as an analgesic drug, but data on its postoperative effects on pain assessment and safety measures are unclear. We aimed to assess the clinical effectiveness of gabapentin in patients undergoing CTS release surgery. We searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science (WOS), and the Cochrane Library for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) addressing the effectiveness of gabapentin in patients with CTS release until September 2024. The primary outcome was the assessment of postoperative pain at one, six, 12, and 24 hours by a visual analog scale (VAS). Other specific outcomes were adverse events. Data were pooled as effect sizes (mean difference (MD) or odds ratio (OR)) with their 95% confidence interval (CI) in a random-effects model using Stata/MP 18. Three RCTs comprising 205 patients were included in the pooled meta-analysis. Gabapentin significantly reduced postoperative pain at six, 12, and 24 hours compared to placebo (MD = -0.6, 95% CI: -0.63 to 0.57, p < 0.001; MD = -2.14, 95% CI: -2.18 to -2.1, p < 0.001; and MD = -1.41, 95% CI: -1.82 to -0.99, p < 0.001, respectively). On the other hand, no significant differences were observed regarding other studied outcomes (i.e., safety) between the two groups. This pooled meta-analysis of 205 patients revealed that gabapentin was associated with reduced pain postoperatively at 6, 12, and 24 hours with comparable rates of adverse events compared to placebo. Further RCTs are warranted to validate the current findings.

Indexed as

carpal tunnel releasecarpal tunnel syndromegabapentinmeta-analysispain

Identifiers

PMID39844878
PMCPMC11753192

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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.