ReviewCureus2025
Comparative Effectiveness of Transversus Abdominis Plane (TAP) Block and Epidural Analgesia in Abdominal Surgery: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Review in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 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
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effect of transversus abdominis plane block on postoperative pain after nephrectomy: a systematic review.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Thoracic Epidural Analgesia in Major Cancer Surgery: An Update.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Review
- [Peripheral regional anesthesia and analgesia: "the magnificent seven" for training].Die Anaesthesiologie · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block and thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) are commonly used techniques for managing postoperative pain following abdominal surgery. While TEA has traditionally been the gold standard, TAP block has emerged as a simpler, potentially safer alternative. This meta-analysis compares the efficacy and safety of TAP block versus TEA across multiple postoperative outcomes in abdominal surgery. A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, CENTRAL, and Scopus to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared TAP block and TEA in adult patients undergoing abdominal surgery. Primary outcomes included pain scores at rest and during coughing at 24 and 48 hours. Secondary outcomes included postoperative opioid consumption, incidence of hypotension, time to pass first flatus, and hospital stay. Data were synthesized using a random-effects model, and heterogeneity was assessed using the
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.