ArticlePain and therapy2025
The Impact of Opioid-Sparing Analgesia on Postoperative Pain and Recovery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Article in Pain and therapy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07693270 (Identifying Biomarkers Related to Opioid Use and Pain Response Following Traumatic Injury and Surgery), which is not on this map. Cited by 29 papers, 2 of them syntheses 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.
Identifying Biomarkers Related to Opioid Use and Pain Response Following Traumatic Injury and Surgery
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Multimodal opioid-free anesthesia containing esketamine versus opioid-based anesthesia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC anesthesiology · 2026Pooled it
- Analgesic efficacy of multiple regional nerve block techniques in laparoscopic hepatectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC anesthesiology · 2026Pooled it
- Intercostal nerve block with liposomal bupivacaine versus no regional analgesia after uniportal thoracoscopic surgery: A randomized controlled trial.JTCVS open · 2026Trial
- Effect of adding a superficial parasternal intercostal plane block to the serratus anterior plane block on postoperative analgesic outcomes in breast cancer surgery: a prospective, randomized, double-blind trial.Langenbeck's archives of surgery · 2026Trial
- The effect of dexmedetomidine on emergence agitation and pain in post-anesthesia recovery of patients undergoing upper limb elective orthopedic surgery: a double-blind randomized clinical trial.BMC anesthesiology · 2026Trial
- Effect of ultrasound-guided quadratus lumborum block with dexmedetomidine as an adjuvant on postoperative analgesia for gynecological laparoscopic surgery: a randomized controlled trial.BMC anesthesiology · 2026Trial
- Esketamine-based PCIA combined with intercostal nerve block for acute pain after lobectomy: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Trial
- Intraoperative esketamine for postoperative analgesia and depression in pancreatic cancer surgery: protocol for a multicenter randomized controlled trial.Annals of medicine · 2026Article
- Efficacy of popliteal plexus block for opioid sparing and pain management after lower extremity surgery: a meta-analysis.The Korean journal of pain · 2026Article
- Less opioid at no extra cost: charge-code decomposition of an ERAS pathway for adolescent scoliosis surgery.Spine deformity · 2026Article
- Intraoperative Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation Attenuates Postoperative Mechanical Pain Sensitization and Visceral Pain After Elective Cesarean Delivery: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Advances in therapy · 2026Article
- Opioid-sparing and opioid-free anaesthesia: concepts, rationale, evidence, and practical implications.Anaesthesiology intensive therapy · 2026Review
- Review
- Comparative Cost-Utility and Clinical Efficacy of 5-HT3 Receptor Antagonists in Sufentanil-Based PCIA: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis.Pain and therapy · 2026Article
- Review
- Conventional versus enhanced recovery laparoscopic cholecystectomy in Rwanda: A comparative analysis of costs and clinical outcomes.Surgery open science · 2026Article
- Regional Blocks in the Era of the Opioid Crisis: Evaluating Their Opioid-Sparing Effect.Cureus · 2026Review
- USG-guided unilateral retrolaminar block decreases pain and enhances patient comfort during extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy: a prospective study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Review
- Impact of multimodal analgesia nursing on postoperative pain and recovery outcomes after hepatectomy.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
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionOpioids are commonly used for postoperative pain management but are associated with adverse effects and risk of dependence, potentially hindering recovery. This systematic review evaluates the impact of opioid-sparing analgesic strategies on postoperative pain and functional recovery to provide evidence-based guidance for clinical practice and future research.
methodsA comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted by searching PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library for randomized controlled trials on adult surgical patients from the inception of each database to July 10, 2024. The primary outcome was the total morphine consumption within 24 h postoperatively. Secondary outcomes included postoperative pain scores at 24 h, patient satisfaction, length of stay, quality of recovery, and opioid-related adverse effects, such as postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), sedation, dizziness, drowsiness, pruritus, urinary retention, and hypotension.
resultsA total of 58 studies (5614 patients) were included. The total morphine consumption was reduced, with a mean difference (MD) of -9.47, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) [-13, -5.95]. The postoperative pain score at 24 h was lower than in the control group, with an MD of -0.72 (95% CI [-0.97, -0.47]). Patient satisfaction was higher than in the control group, with an MD of 0.88 (95% CI [0.36, 1.40]). There were no significant differences in length of stay or recovery quality compared to the control group (P = 0.7, P = 0.48). The incidence of PONV was lower than the control group, with an odds ratio (OR) of 0.73 (95% CI [0.59, 0.90]), and the incidence of pruritus was also lower than in the control group, with an OR of 0.64 (95% CI [0.41, 0.98]). There were no differences in other adverse reactions compared to the control group.
conclusionThe results of this meta-analysis indicate that, compared to opioid-based analgesia, opioid-sparing analgesia is associated with reduced morphine consumption within 24 h postoperatively, lower pain scores, and a decreased incidence of PONV and pruritus. Patient satisfaction was also improved. The findings will help clinicians make evidence-based decisions for postoperative pain management.
trial registrationThe protocol for this meta-analysis: PROSPERO CRD42024579882.
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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.