Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38019351›Full record

SynthesisJournal of anesthesia2024

Paramedian versus midline approach of spinal anesthesia: a systematic review and meta-analysis with trial sequential analysis.

Ka Ting Ng, Wei En Lim, Wan Yi Teoh, Ina Ismiarti Shariffuddin, Lian Kah Ti, Mohd Fitry Bin Zainal Abidin

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of anesthesia, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 19% of its field
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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. A Narrative Review on Multimodal Spinal Anesthesia: Old Technique and New Use.Journal of anesthesia and translational medicine · 2025
    Article
  2. Article
  3. 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

6 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Ka Ting NgDepartment of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Jalan Universiti, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.ORCID 0000-0001-7825-2628
Wei En LimDepartment of Anesthesiology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK.
Wan Yi TeohDepartment of Anesthesiology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 3BX, UK.
Ina Ismiarti ShariffuddinDepartment of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Jalan Universiti, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Lian Kah TiDepartment of Anesthesiology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 119077, Singapore.
Mohd Fitry Bin Zainal AbidinDepartment of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Jalan Universiti, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. mohdfitry@yahoo.co.uk.
University of Malaya · MYNational University of Singapore · SGUniversity of Glasgow · GBUniversity of Liverpool · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeMidline approach of spinal anesthesia has been widely used for patients undergoing surgical procedures. However, it might not be effective for obstetric patients and elderly with degenerative spine changes. Primary objective was to examine the success rate at the first attempt between the paramedian and midline spinal anesthesia in adults undergoing surgery.

methodsDatabases of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL were searched from their starting date until February 2023. Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) comparing the paramedian versus midline approach of spinal anesthesia were included. The primary outcome was the success rate at the first attempt of spinal anesthesia.

resultsOur review included 36 RCTs (n = 5379). Compared to the midline approach, paramedian approach may increase success rate at the first attempt but the evidence is very uncertain (OR: 0.47, 95% CI 0.27-0.82, ρ = 0.007, level of evidence:very low). Our pooled data indicates that the paramedian approach likely reduced incidence of post-spinal headache (OR: 2.07, 95% CI 1.51-2.84, ρ < 0.00001, level of evidence:moderate). The evidence suggests that the paramedian approach may result in a reduction in the occurrence of paresthesia (OR: 1.61, 95% CI 1.06-2.45, ρ = 0.03, level of evidence:low).

conclusionsOur meta-analysis of 36 RCTs showed that paramedian approach may result in little to no difference in success rate at the first attempt owing to its very low level of evidence. However, given the low level of evidence and studies with small sample sizes, these findings need to be interpreted with caveat. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42023397781.

Indexed as

Anesthesia, SpinalPost-Dural Puncture HeadacheAdultAgedFemaleHumansIncidencePregnancyAnesthesiaBack painParesthesiaPost-dural puncture headacheSpinalSpinal puncture

Identifiers

PMID38019351
OpenAlexW4389140250

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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 Socratic graph.