Dexamethasone added to local anesthetics in ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plain (TAP) block for analgesia after abdominal surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Abstract

ObjectiveTo evaluate the analgesic efficacy of dexamethasone added to local anesthetics in ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block for the patients after abdominal surgery.MethodsPubMed, CENTRAL, EMBASE, Web of science were searched to identify eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared dexamethasone added to local anesthetics in ultrasound-guided TAP block with control for postoperative analgesia in adult patients undergoing abdominal surgery. Primary outcomes included postoperative pain intensity, the time to the first request for additional analgesics, and opioid consumption over 24 h after surgery. Secondary outcome was the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting. Analysis was performed by RevMan 5.3 software and the quality of evidence was rated using GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) approach.ResultsNine RCTs involving 575 patients were included. Compared to the control, dexamethasone added to local anesthetics in ultrasound-guided TAP block significantly decreased visual analogue scale (VAS) scores at rest at 4h (mean difference [MD] = -1.01; 95% confidence intervals [CI], -1.29 to -0.73; PConclusionsDexamethasone added to local anesthetics in ultrasound-guided TAP block was a safe and effective strategy for postoperative analgesia in adult patients undergoing abdominal surgery.