ArticleEFORT open reviews2025
Analgesic effects of dexmedetomidine combined with shoulder nerve blocks before arthroscopy: a meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials.
Article in EFORT open reviews, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Adjunctive Intravenous Dexmedetomidine's Effect on Surgical Visualization and Analgesia in Arthroscopic Bankart Repair: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Purpose: Dexmedetomidine is a widely employed adjunct in nerve block anesthesia for shoulder arthroscopy. This study aimed to assess the analgesic efficacy of dexmedetomidine as a nerve block adjuvant in patients undergoing shoulder arthroscopy. Methods: A thorough search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library databases was conducted to identify randomized-controlled trials comparing the effects of dexmedetomidine-enhanced shoulder arthroscopy nerve blocks against those without dexmedetomidine. This systematic review and meta-analysis followed the PRISMA guidelines. The Cochrane-recommended risk of bias tool was employed for quality and bias assessment. Statistical analysis, utilizing Review Manager 5.4 with a significance level of P < 0.05, focused on primary outcomes: duration of analgesia and postoperative 24 h morphine consumption, and secondary outcomes: motor and sensory block duration, visual analog scale pain scores and adverse events. Results: Out of 307 articles retrieved, ten randomized-controlled trials involving 672 patients were included. Dexmedetomidine supplementation significantly prolonged the duration of analgesia (MD = 3.58, 95% CI: 2.53- 4.63, P < 0.00001, I 2 = 77%) and decreased postoperative morphine consumption (MD = -11.88, 95% CI: -17.25 to -6.52, P < 0.0001, I 2 = 41%). In addition, the dexmedetomidine group exhibited lower VAS pain scores at 1, 12 and 24 h postoperatively. No significant differences were observed in motor block duration, bradycardia (P = 0.18), hypotension (P = 0.50) and nausea and vomiting (P = 0.76). Sensitivity analyses validated the robustness of these findings. Conclusions: This meta-analysis supports dexmedetomidine as an effective adjuvant in nerve blocks for shoulder arthroscopy. It enhances postoperative analgesia without increasing adverse events such as bradycardia, hypotension and nausea and vomiting.
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