Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40983823›Full record

Trial reportCanadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie2025

The addition of interpectoral and pectoserratus fascial plane blocks to paravertebral blocks for analgesia after total mastectomy and immediate breast reconstruction: a pilot feasibility randomized controlled trial.

Hannah Wells, Krisha Malik, Penelope M A Brasher, Esta Bovill, Nancy Van Laeken, Rebecca Warburton, Christopher Prabhakar, Xi Lisa Li, Kathryn V Isaac

Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04860843 (Regional Nerve Blocks in Alloplastic Breast Reconstructive Surgery), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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.

NCT04860843 naunknown statusnot on this map

Regional Nerve Blocks in Alloplastic Breast Reconstructive Surgery: A Pilot, Randomized Controlled Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of British ColumbiaRan2021 to 2024Enrolled30ConditionsSurgery, Plastic, Mastectomy, Nerve Block, Breast ReconstructionArmsThoracic paravertebral block, Pecs block, Sham Pecs block
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

9 authors.

Hannah WellsDivision of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Krisha MalikDivision of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Penelope M A BrasherCentre for Clinical Epidemiology & Evaluation, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Esta BovillDivision of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Nancy Van LaekenDivision of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Rebecca WarburtonDivision of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Christopher PrabhakarDepartment of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Xi Lisa LiDepartment of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Kathryn V IsaacDivision of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. kathryn.isaac@ubc.ca.ORCID 0000-0002-9374-031X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposePostmastectomy breast reconstruction (BR) may be associated with significant postoperative pain. Use of regional anesthetic blocks has been identified as a potentially beneficial technique to reduce perioperative pain. We sought to conduct a pilot feasibility trial to evaluate the addition of interpectoral and pectoserratus blocks to thoracic paravertebral blocks (TPVBs).

methodsWe conducted a pilot feasibility randomized controlled trial (RCT) at the Providence Breast Centre (Mount Saint Joseph's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada), between 7 May 2021 and 17 March 2023. Adult female patients undergoing BR using tissue expanders or implants were randomized (1:1) to receive TPVB + interpectoral and pectoserratus blocks (intervention) or TPVB + saline (control). Feasibility outcomes related to recruitment, retention, block administration, and safety. We also measured numerical rating scale (NRS) pain scores 24 hr postoperatively and assessed whether the lower bound of the 80% confidence interval (CI) for the between-group difference in mean scores was > 0.

resultsOf 83 eligible patients, 30 (36%) were randomized. Average recruitment was 1.3 patients per month; all blocks were successfully administered, and there were no complications associated with the blocks. Retention to the end of follow-up (six months) was 90%. Mean (standard deviation) self-reported NRS pain scores at 24 hr postoperatively were 3.0 (1.9) and 3.5 (1.9) in the control and intervention groups, respectively (difference in means, -0.5; 80% confidence interval, -1.4 to 0.5).

conclusionThis RCT showed the feasibility and safety of the intervention with a high retention to the end of follow-up. Nevertheless, we did not meet our prespecified recruitment target, and the results did not provide evidence of potential effectiveness of the intervention to sufficiently support the conduct of a definitive efficacy RCT. STUDY REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT04860843 ); first posted 27 April 2021.

Indexed as

MammaplastyMastectomyNerve BlockPostoperative PainAdultFeasibility StudiesFemaleHumansMiddle AgedPain MeasurementPilot Projectsanalgesiabreast reconstructionpainregional anesthesia

Identifiers

PMID40983823

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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.