Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40169964›Full record

SynthesisBMC anesthesiology2025

Comparative efficacy and safety of local anesthesia combinations for labor pain relief: a network meta-analysis.

Pan Li, Xiaoting Ma, Meng Zhang, Longlu Cao, Ran Duan, Jianli Li

Abstract readComparative StudySystematic ReviewNetwork Meta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC anesthesiology, 2025. 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
–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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
  3. Review
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.

Pan LiDepartment of Anesthesiology, Hebei General Hospital, 348 Heping West Road, Xinhua District, Shijiazhuang, 050052, China.
Xiaoting MaDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, Hebei General Hospital, Shijiazhuang, China.
Meng ZhangDepartment of Anesthesiology, Hebei General Hospital, 348 Heping West Road, Xinhua District, Shijiazhuang, 050052, China.
Longlu CaoDepartment of Anesthesiology, Hebei General Hospital, 348 Heping West Road, Xinhua District, Shijiazhuang, 050052, China.
Ran DuanDepartment of Anesthesiology, Hebei General Hospital, 348 Heping West Road, Xinhua District, Shijiazhuang, 050052, China.
Jianli LiDepartment of Anesthesiology, Hebei General Hospital, 348 Heping West Road, Xinhua District, Shijiazhuang, 050052, China. srmmzyjs@163.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEpidural anesthesia stands out as the most commonly employed approach for labor analgesia, frequently complemented by various local anesthetics, and the analgesic effectiveness and safety profiles of distinct local anesthetic regimens are different. To compare the efficacy and adverse reactions of different local anesthetic regimens in relieving labor pain by performing a network meta-analysis.

methodsWe systematically searched four electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library) for randomized controlled trials from the inception of the databases up to March 3, 2025. Included in the study were patients aged 18 to 35 years who underwent painless delivery under epidural anesthesia.

resultsThe meta-analysis included a total of 59 studies involving 6972 patients. The combination of Ropivacaine_Dexmedetomidine_Sufentanil (Rop_Dex_Suf) was the most effective and fast in reducing Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores at 30 min after block, compared to most other anesthesia schemes. Labor pain lasted for the longest time with Ropivacaine_Dexmedetomidine(Rop_Dex). Meanwhile, Bupivacaine_Pethidine(Bpv_Pet), Bupivacaine_Dexmedetomidine(Bpv_Dex), Fentanyl(Fen), and Bupivacaine_Diamorphine(Bpv_DiaMor) had the lowest incidence of nausea, vomiting, hypotension, and pruritus. Besides, Bupivacaine_Dexmedetomidine(Bpv_Dex), Ropivacaine_Dexmedetomidine(Rop_Dex), and Ropivacaine_Dexmedetomidine_Sufentanil (Rop_Dex_Suf) have demonstrated outstanding analgesic efficacy and safety.

conclusionsOur study demonstrates that the combination of ropivacaine, dexmedetomidine, and sufentanil is the most effective regimen for alleviating labor pain. Nonetheless, given the limited number of studies on certain protocols, additional high-quality, large-scale randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are anticipated to substantiate our conclusion in the future. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42023459538. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.

Indexed as

Analgesia, ObstetricalAnesthesia, LocalAnesthetics, CombinedAnesthetics, LocalLabor PainFemaleHumansPregnancyRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicAnesthetics, CombinedAnesthetics, LocalLabor painLocal anesthesia adjuvantsNetwork meta-analysisPregnant women

Identifiers

PMID40169964
PMCPMC11963270

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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.