SynthesisInterdisciplinary cardiovascular and thoracic surgery2026
Intercostal Nerve Cryoablation Therapy in Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery for Postoperative Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Interdisciplinary cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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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.
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesThoracic and cardiac surgical procedures are associated with significant postoperative pain. Intercostal nerve cryoablation (INC) is a non-opioid adjunctive pain management strategy. The objective of this study was to comprehensively review published outcomes of INC during non-pectus repair thoracic and cardiac surgeries to inform clinical practice and guideline development.
methodsA literature search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, and using manual approaches to identify comparative studies of patients undergoing non-pectus repair thoracic or cardiac procedures with INC versus standard of care (SOC) without INC. Meta-analyses were performed to quantitively evaluate opioid consumption and hospital length of stay (LOS). Secondary outcomes were summarized qualitatively.
resultsTwenty-four studies were included encompassing 18465 patients, of whom 10.6% (n = 1954) received INC. INC was applied during surgical stabilization of rib fractures, thoracotomy, pulmonary resections, lung transplants, aortic aneurysm repair, and cardiac procedures. Meta-analyses of adult studies demonstrated a significant reduction in inpatient opioid consumption by 102 morphine milligram equivalents (MME) (95% CI: -180.00, -23.87) and a non-significant reduction in opioid consumption after discharge by 89 MME (95% CI: -182.00, 4.56) with INC. Sub-group analysis demonstrated the largest effect size in inpatient opioid reduction for bilateral thoracotomy or thoracosternotomy for lung transplants. Meta-analysis demonstrated no significant difference in hospital stay for adult patients treated with INC.
conclusionsThe results of this systematic review and meta-analysis provide evidence to support the association between INC and reduced inpatient opioid consumption in non-pectus repair thoracic and cardiac procedures.
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