The purpose of this meta-analysis was to compare the efficacy and safety of
regional anesthesia to manage chronic postsurgery
pain. A systematic search of PubMed, EmBase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials was performed to identify randomized controlled trials that focused on
chronic pain frequency,
analgesic consumption, and adverse effects under different surgical categories. We collected 21 trials assessing 1,980 patients for our meta-analysis. The summary of relative risks (RRs) and standard mean differences (SMDs) were calculated to measure the treatment effect of
regional anesthesia. Results indicated that
regional anesthesia significantly reduced the frequency of postsurgery
pain (RR, 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.56-0.85; p < 0.001). The results showed significant differences in overall patient satisfaction between applications with and without
regional anesthesia (SMD, 1.95; 95%CI, 0.83-3.06; p = 0.001); however in other results, there were no significant differences between the two groups. Subgroup analysis suggested that
regional anesthesia treatment might differ according to country. In conclusion, our study indicated that
regional anesthesia was effective and safe in reducing the frequency of postsurgery
pain and improved overall patient satisfaction; however, studies on the long-term efficacy and safety of
regional anesthesia are still required to further confirm these findings.