Table 1.
Characteristics of included studies
| Methods | Participants | Interventions | Outcomes | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Ja’bari 2019 [22] | RCT, patient, observer blinded | 42 female adults for radical mastectomy | PEC 2 block after GA vs systemic analgesia | Opioid requirement, complications | |
| Bashandy 2015 [23] | RCT, Observer blinded | 120 female adults for breast cancer surgery | PEC 2 before GA vs systemic analgesia | Pain, opioid use, Length of stay in PACU and hospital, PONV | |
| Choi 2019 [24] | RCT, patient, and observer blinded | 39 female adults for breast cancer surgery | PEC 2 block after GA vs systemic analgesia | Intraoperative hemodynamics, pain score, rescue analgesia requirement | Registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03210220 |
| Cros 2018 [25] | RCT, patient, practitioner and observer blinded | 128 female adults for breast cancer surgery | PEC 1 with Bupivacaine vs Saline after GA | Pain-intraoperative to 7 days post op | |
| Ekinci 2019 [26] | RCT, patient blind | 90 female adults for breast augmentation surgery | PEC 1 block 30 ml after GA vs systemic analgesia | Pain, opioid requirement, complications | |
| Kamiya 2018 [27] | RCT, patient, practitioner and observer blinded | 59 female adults for breast cancer surgery | PEC 2 with Bupivacaine vs saline after GA | pain, PONV | |
| Kakkar 2019 [28] | RCT, patient blind | 60 female adults undergoing modified radical mastectomy | PEC 1 and 2 block after GA vs systemic analgesia | Pain, opioid requirement and time to rescue analgesia | |
| Karaca 2018 [29] | Randomized control trial, observer + patient blinded | 54 female adults for breast augmentation | PEC 2 block after GA vs systemic analgesia | Opioid requirement; pain at rest + movement, LOS PACU + hospital, first opioid time, PONV, other complications | Registered in the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (No: ACTRN 12617000687392) |
| Khemka 2019 [30] | RCT, patient blind | 100 female adults for breast cancer surgery with axillary dissection | PEC 1 and 2 block after GA vs systemic analgesia | Pain, opioid requirement, PONV, shoulder mobility | Registered with the Clinical Trials Registry of India, CTRI/2017/10/010131 |
| Kim 2018 [31] | RCT, only observer blinded | 78 female adults for breast cancer surgery | PEC 2 block after GA vs systemic analgesia | Pain, analgesia related complication, opioid and NSAIDs consumption | Registered on Clinical Research Information Service KCT0002509 |
| Kumar 2018 [32] | RCT, observer blinded only | 50 female adults for breast cancer surgery | PEC 2 before GA VS systemic analgesia | Pain at rest and on abduction, opioid requirement, PONV | |
| Lan 2018 [33] | RCT, patient blind | 65 female adults for modified radical mastectomy | PEC 2 block after GA vs systemic analgesia | Pain, opioid requirement | |
| Nassar 2018 [34] | RCT, patient, personnel and observer blinded | 20 female adults for breast augmentation | PEC 2 with bupivacaine vs saline | pain score | |
| Neethu 2018 [35] | RCT, patient and observer blinded | 60 female adults for breast cancer surgery | PEC 2 after GA vs systemic analgesia | Pain, opioid requirement, side effects | Registered with the Clinical Trials Registry of India CTRI/2015/12/006457 |
| Senapathi 2019 [36] | RCT, patient blinded | 50 adult females for modified radical mastectomy | PEC 2 block after GA vs systemic analgesia | Pain, opioid requirement | |
| Syal 2017 [37] | RCT | 65 f female adults for breast cancer surgery | PEC 2 vs paravertebral block post-op vs systemic analgesia | Pain score, opioid requirement, time to rescue analgesia | |
| Thomas 2018 [38] | RCT | 60 adult female patients for mastectomy | PEC 2 with Bupivacaine vs saline | Pain severity, opioid requirement | |
| Versyck 2017 [39] | RCT | 140 female adults for breast cancer surgery | PEC 2 with Bupivacaine vs saline | opioid use | Registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02544282 |
| Wang 2018 [40] | RCT, patient and observer blinded | 64 adult female undergoing mastectomy with immediate reconstruction | PEC 2 under GA vs systemic analgesia | Pain score, opioid requirement, Length of stay | Registered on Chinese Clinical Trial Register, ChiCTR-IOR-17010540 |