Efficacy of ultrasound-guided stellate ganglion block in relieving acute postoperative pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective The efficacy of ultrasound-guided stellate ganglion block (SGB) in alleviating postoperative pain remains unclear. This meta-analysis was performed to determine the efficacy of ultrasound-guided SGB in relieving acute postoperative pain in patients undergoing surgery with general anesthesia. Methods This systematic review and meta-analysis focused on randomized controlled trials comparing SGB with control or placebo. The primary outcome was the pain score at 24 hours after surgery. A random-effects model was used to calculate the mean difference (MD) or risk ratio with a confidence interval (CI) of 95%. Results Eight studies involving 470 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The results revealed that ultrasound-guided SGB was significantly associated with a lower pain score at 24 hours after surgery (MD = −0.74; 95% CI = −1.39, −0.08; I 2 = 86%; low evidence) and at 8 hours after surgery (MD = −0.65; 95% CI = −1.03, −0.28; I 2 = 29%; moderate evidence). Conclusion Ultrasound-guided SGB is effective in alleviating acute postoperative pain. However, considering the limited number of trials performed to date, more large-scale and high-quality randomized controlled trials are required to confirm these findings.