ArticleJTCVS open2025
Intercostal nerve cryoablation in lung transplantation: A single-center, propensity score-matched analysis.
Article in JTCVS open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Intercostal Nerve Cryoablation Therapy in Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery for Postoperative Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Interdisciplinary cardiovascular and thoracic surgery · 2026Pooled it
- Multicenter, real-world patient registry outcomes from intercostal nerve cryoablation during robotic-assisted thoracic surgical procedures.Journal of thoracic disease · 2026Article
- Continuous serratus-intercostal plane block versus intercostal cryoanalgesia for postoperative pain after minimally invasive cardiac surgery: a prospective comparative observational study.BMC anesthesiology · 2026Observational
- Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Achieving adequate pain control after lung transplantation is an essential milestone in a patient's recovery. We compared postoperative opioid use, clinical outcomes, and respiratory function in lung transplant recipients treated with intercostal nerve cryoablation (INC) compared to those receiving standard pain management. Methods: We reviewed all adult lung transplants performed at our center between January 2016 and December 2022. We excluded cases performed through median sternotomy and patients with prior thoracotomies, multiorgan transplants, and redo transplants. We performed a propensity score-matched analysis, comparing patients who received INC versus those who received standard pain management. The primary outcome was cumulative postoperative opioid use in morphine milligram equivalents (MME) by postoperative day (POD) 14. Secondary outcomes included opioid use on POD5 and POD10, perioperative outcomes, 1-year survival, and longitudinal measurement of respiratory function. Results: Propensity score matching resulted in 85 patients in each group. Compared to the standard pain management group, the INC group had a lower cumulative opioid use by POD14 (509 MME vs 864 MME; Conclusions: In our single-center analysis, INC was associated with less opioid use and improved respiratory function after lung transplant. This report adds to the growing literature supporting the use of INC in multimodal pain management strategies and enhanced recovery protocols in lung transplant.
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.