Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41694876›Full record

ReviewCureus2026

Optimising Postoperative Pain to Improve Recovery After Lung Cancer Resection: A Narrative Review of Surgical and Analgesic Strategies.

William Foot

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Cureus, 2026. 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.

  1. Article
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

1 author.

William FootCardiothoracic Surgery, Queensland Health, Brisbane, AUS.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Surgical resection for lung cancer is the primary treatment modality for early-stage tumours, and there is likely to be an increase in the need for surgery with improvements in the early detection of lung cancer, as well as advances in thoracic surgery that allow patients who would have previously been deemed unsuitable to undergo surgical resection. Despite its potentially curative nature, the invasiveness of thoracic surgery, as well as potential concerns regarding postoperative pain and recovery, means that some patients may decline surgical resection of their lung cancer. Strategies to reduce postoperative pain may improve outcomes following lung resection and may allow more patients to undergo surgical treatment for lung cancer. This narrative review aims to highlight the importance of improving postoperative pain control and review the evidence for some of the surgical and analgesic strategies to achieve this. Modifications to the traditional thoracotomy technique and increased adoption of minimally invasive approaches are some of the surgical strategies that may improve postoperative pain control and recovery. Analgesic strategy may play an even more important role in optimising recovery following thoracic surgery. While opiate medication has been the mainstay of postoperative pain management, there is increasing recognition of opiate-related complications and addiction. Regional anaesthetic techniques are playing a more prominent role in analgesic strategies post-thoracic surgery. Thoracic epidural has been considered the gold standard, but it is associated with its own complications. Newer regional anaesthetic techniques may be equally as effective as a thoracic epidural but with fewer complications. Further study is needed to elicit the optimal regional anaesthesia strategy. Certainly, a combined approach of improvements in surgical technique along with a multi-modal analgesia strategy incorporating regional anaesthetic techniques will yield the best outcomes with regard to reducing postoperative pain, avoiding complications and improving recovery for patients undergoing lung cancer resection.

Indexed as

cardiothoracic surgeriesgeneral thoracic surgerylung cancer surgerypost operative pain managementpost thoracotomy painregional anesthesiologyvideo-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (vats)

Identifiers

PMID41694876
PMCPMC12904654

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.