Prospective Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Brachial Plexus Nerve Block During the Perioperative Period in Long-Term Opioid Users Undergoing Upper Extremity Surgery - A Case Series.

Daniel Huettner, Yue Qiu, Bedda L Rosario, Steven Orebaugh

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Local and regional anesthesia, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

Ultrasound-Guided Interscalene Brachial Plexus Block: Single Bolus Injection versus Continuous Catheter Placement in Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair with Implications for Postoperative Rehabilitation - A Prospective Randomized Unblinded Trial.Local and regional anesthesia · 2026
Trial

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

4 authors.

Daniel HuettnerDepartment of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

Yue QiuDepartment of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

Bedda L RosarioDepartment of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-8795-4242

Steven OrebaughDepartment of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose: This study examined whether chronic opioid use reduces the effectiveness of brachial plexus block in patients undergoing upper extremity surgery. Patients and Methods: Patients undergoing surgery with brachial plexus blocks were divided into two groups: opioid-dependent (daily opioid use for ≥1 month) and control (no opioid use for ≥3 months). Pain scores and opioid use were recorded over 72 hours postoperatively. Results: Forty-six patients were included (23 opioid-dependent and 23 control). The median (IQR) NRS scores upon PACU arrival were 0 (0-0) in the control group and 0 (0-5) in the opioid group (p=0.0101). The duration of the nerve block was shorter in opioid-dependent patients (14 versus 22 hours; p=0.0035). Conclusion: Chronic opioid users experienced shorter brachial plexus block duration and more postoperative pain after being discharged home.

Indexed as

anesthesiachronic painopiatesrecovery

Identifiers

PMID41116909

DOI10.2147/LRA.S541354

PMCPMC12535725

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.