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Multimodal analgesia is a strategy that can be used to improve pain management in the perioperative period for patients undergoing surgery of the spine. However, no review evidence is available on the quantitative models of multimodal analgesia within this clinical setting. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the effects of maximal (≥3 analgesic agents) multimodal analgesic medication for patients undergoing surgery of the spine. We included randomized controlled trials that had evaluated the use of ≥3 multimodal analgesia components (maximal multimodal analgesia) in patients undergoing spinal surgery. We excluded patients who had received neuraxial or regional analgesia. The control group consisted of placebo, standard care (any therapeutic modality including ≤2 analgesic components). The primary outcomes were the postoperative pain scores at rest evaluated at 24 and 48 hours. We searched MEDLINE via OvidSP, EMBASE via OvidSP, and the Cochrane Library (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and CENTRAL). We used the Cochrane standard methods. We identified consistently improved analgesic endpoints across all predetermined primary and secondary outcomes. A total of 11 eligible studies had evaluated the primary outcome of pain at rest at 24 hours. The patients who had received maximal multimodal analgesia were identified to have had lower pain scores with an average mean difference of −1.03 (P < 0.00001). The length of hospital stay was shorter for the patients who had received multimodal analgesia (mean difference, −0.55; P < 0.00001). Perioperative maximal multimodal analgesia consistently improved the visual analog scale scores for an adult population in the immediate postoperative period, with a moderate quality of evidence. We found a significant decrease in the hospital length of stay for patients who had received maximal multimodal analgesia with a high level of evidence and no statistical heterogeneity. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the impact of perioperative intravenous lidocaine infusion on pain management scores, opioid consumption, adverse events, and hospital length of stay in patients undergoing spinal surgery. Methods We included randomized controlled trials evaluating the use of perioperative intravenous lidocaine in adult and pediatric patients undergoing spinal surgery. Primary outcomes were postoperative pain scores at rest and at 2, 4–6, 24, and 48 hours and adverse events attributable to lidocaine administration. We searched electronic databases from their inception to the present. We used Cochrane's standard methods. We used a random-effects model to synthetize data. We conducted three subgroup analyses: patients undergoing major surgery vs patients undergoing minor surgery, patients with chronic pain conditions vs patients without, and adult vs pediatric patients. Results A total of eight studies were included that compared patients having intravenous lidocaine (n = 349) with controls (n = 343). Intravenous lidocaine administration was associated with significantly reduced visual analog pain scores at 2 hours (mean difference [MD] = −1.13), 4–6 hours (MD = −0.79), and 24 hours (MD = −0.50) postoperatively. In the adults, efficacy of treatment was extended to 48 hours (MD = −0.72). Perioperative intravenous lidocaine administration was associated with reduced perioperative opioid consumption at 24 and 48 hours, as well as decreased hospital length of stay. Conclusion Perioperative intravenous lidocaine infusion consistently improves analgesic measures in adult and pediatric populations in the first 24 hours, with an effective decrease in opioid consumption noted to 48 hours. These results are most generalizable in the adult population in the first 4–6 to 24 postoperative hours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the use of regional analgesia techniques in video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). The PROSPECT Working Group recommends the use of paravertebral blocks (PVB) or erector spinae plane blocks as the first-line option, with serratus anterior plane blocks (SAPB) as a second-line option. A recent trial found that combining PVB and SAPB did not result in improved pain scores, and another trial found no difference in opioid consumption or pain scores when comparing combined SAPB and PVB to PVB alone. The article highlights the need for further research to determine the optimal regional analgesia technique for VATS. [Extracted from the article]