ArticlePain and therapy2026
Association Between Smoking and Opioid Requirement and Pain Intensity in the Early Postoperative Period: A Meta-Analysis.
Article in Pain and therapy, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Non-tobacco nicotine dependence is associated with increased complications following clavicle open reduction internal fixation.Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery · 2026Article
- Article
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
introductionEffective postoperative pain management is crucial for patient recovery and satisfaction. Smoking may impact pain perception and analgesic requirements, but its effects on postoperative opioid needs remain unclear. The objective of this study was to determine whether patients who smoke have different postoperative opioid requirements compared to nonsmokers in the first 24 and 48 h after surgery.
methodsWe conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies comparing postoperative opioid use between smokers and nonsmokers. A comprehensive literature search was performed in Web of Science and PubMed databases. Opioid doses were converted to morphine equivalents for comparison. Random effects meta-analysis was used to calculate pooled effect sizes.
resultsEight studies (784 patients) were included for the primary 24-h outcome and seven studies (1164 patients) for the 48-h outcome. Meta-analysis showed significantly higher opioid requirements in smokers compared to nonsmokers at both 24 h (standardized mean difference [SMD] 0.90, 95% CI 0.74-1.06, p < 0.00001) and 48 h postoperatively (SMD 0.61, 95% CI 0.48-0.74, p < 0.00001). On average, smokers required 33.7% more opioids than nonsmokers. Smokers also reported significantly higher pain scores 24 h after surgery (SMD 0.59, 95% CI 0.26-0.92, p < 0.001).
conclusionsDespite low-quality evidence due to non-randomized study designs, this meta-analysis demonstrates that patients who smoke have significantly higher postoperative opioid requirements and pain scores than nonsmokers. These findings highlight the need to consider smoking status when developing postoperative pain management strategies. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying this relationship and optimize pain control in smokers.
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.