Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42652905›Full record

ReviewLife (Basel, Switzerland)2026

Dexmedetomidine as an Adjunct to Transversus Abdominis Plane Block in Patients Undergoing Cancer Surgeries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Rana Abdulmohsen Alotaibi, Manal Owaid Alharthi, Hazem Ibrahim Shokry, Abdulaziz Fahad Samandar, Wafaa T Alruwaili, Muzun Hamed Aljohani, Shatha Salem Alhamed, Amal Hussain Al Mutairi, Elaf Abdullah Alruwaili, Rawan Ahmed Alzahrani and 4 more

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Life (Basel, Switzerland), 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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0citing papers in PubMed
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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

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

14 authors.

Rana Abdulmohsen AlotaibiCollege of Pharmacy, Taif University, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia.ORCID 0009-0009-5933-1529
Manal Owaid AlharthiCollege of Pharmacy, Taif University, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia.
Hazem Ibrahim ShokryAnesthesiology and Intensive Care, Ohud Hospital, Minisrty of Heakth, Al Madinah Al Munawwarah 42394, Saudi Arabia.
Abdulaziz Fahad SamandarCollege of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia.
Wafaa T AlruwailiCollege of Pharmacy, Northern Border University, Arar 91431, Saudi Arabia.ORCID 0009-0004-5239-3878
Muzun Hamed Aljohani‪College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, Al Madinah Al Munawwarah 42353, Saudi Arabia.
Shatha Salem AlhamedCommunity Pharmacy Outlet Plus, Alhusiba, Dumat al-Jandal 74821, Saudi Arabia.
Amal Hussain Al MutairiRoyal Medical Service, Amman 11855, Jordan.
Elaf Abdullah AlruwailiSchool of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences (SCMB), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
Rawan Ahmed Alzahrani‪College of Pharmacy, Al Baha University, Al Baha 65431, Saudi Arabia.
Ahmed Tariq AlzahraniCollege of Pharmacy, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia.
Areej Jarbou BahrawiCollege of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.ORCID 0009-0005-8591-0031
Nawaf Mohammed AlghamdiCollege of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
Mansour Abdulrahman AlkhulayfiCollege of Pharmacy, Taif University, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCancer rates are increasing significantly worldwide, with surgical intervention being the most convenient intervention. Transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block has been proven to enhance postoperative opioid use and its associated complications. Additionally, dexmedetomidine has been reported to provide effective analgesia with relatively minimal respiratory complications. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to explore the efficacy of combining dexmedetomidine with transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block compared to transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block alone in patients undergoing various cancer surgeries as outcomes may also be influenced by surgical and patient-related factors.

methodsWe conducted a comprehensive literature search across PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane CENTRAL, and Embase to identify randomized controlled trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of dexmedetomidine as an adjunct to transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block in patients undergoing cancer surgery. Data were extracted from the six eligible randomized controlled trials that met the predefined inclusion criteria, and a random-effects meta-analysis was performed using RevMan software Version 5.4.

resultsThe meta-analysis found that dexmedetomidine as an adjunct to transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block was more effective than transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block alone in reducing the mean arterial pressure and the mean heart rate 2 h postoperatively (MD -6.46, 95% CI [-8.63; -4.30],

conclusionsCompared to transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block alone, the dexmedetomidine and transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block arm showed a statistically significant difference in time to first rescue analgesia, patient overall satisfaction, nausea, and vomiting. However, no statistical significance difference was found across the remaining outcomes.

Indexed as

cancerdexmedetomidineopioid consumptionpostoperative painsurgeriestransversus abdominis plane block

Identifiers

PMID42652905
PMCPMC13514275

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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.