ArticleInternational journal of surgery (London, England)2026
Erector spinae plane block in laparoscopic cholecystectomy: cutting pain, not just gallbladder (systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials).
Article in International journal of surgery (London, England), 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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Abstract
Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is the gold standard for gallstone disease, but postoperative pain remains a challenge. Erector spinae plane block (ESPB) has emerged as a promising regional anesthesia technique; however, its comparative efficacy versus established methods such as transversus abdominis plane block (TAPB), port-site infiltration (PSI), or no block (NB) is not fully clarified. Materials and methods: This meta-analysis followed PRISMA and AMSTAR guidelines. Thirty-six randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published between 2018 and 2025, including adult patients who had LC were analyzed. ESPB was compared with TAPB (12 RCTs), PSI (5 RCTs), and NB (24 RCTs) with respect to pain scores, opioid consumption, time to rescue analgesia, intraoperative fentanyl use, and postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). Fixed- or random-effects models were used according to heterogeneity ( Results: ESPB significantly reduced postoperative pain at rest and on movement compared with NB at all time points, with the greatest effect observed at 1-2 hours (MD: -1.82; Conclusions: ESPB provides superior analgesia with reduced opioid consumption after LC, with additional benefits of prolonged pain relief and lower PONV rates. It should be considered an effective component of multimodal pain management in this setting.
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