Results
The primary outcome was opioid consumption during the first 24 h after
surgery. The secondary outcomes were pain after extubation at 12 and 24
h, postoperative nausea and vomiting, extubation time, intensive care
unit discharge time, and length of hospital stay. Fifteen studies with
849 patients were included. The regional anesthesia techniques included
pecto-intercostal fascial block, transversus thoracis muscle plane
block, erector spinae plane (ESP) block, and pectoralis nerve block I.
All the regional anesthesia techniques included significantly reduced
postoperative opioid consumption at 24 hours, expressed as morphine
milligram equivalents (MME). The ESP block was the most effective
treatment (-22.93 MME [-34.29;-11.56]).