Table 2.

GRADE evidence profile for pain scores.

Quality assessment							No. of patients		Effect	Quality	Importance
No. of studies	Design	Risk of bias	Inconsistency	Indirectness	Imprecision	Other considerations	TAP	Wl	Absolute (95% CI)
Pain scores at rest at 1 h (measured with: VAS; better indicated by lower values)
5	Randomized trials	Serious1	No serious inconsistency	No serious indirectness	Serious2	Strong association3	143	141	MD 0.32 lower (0.87 lower to 0.24 higher)	Moderate	Critical
Pain scores at rest at 2 h (measured with: VAS; better indicated by lower values)
5	Randomized trials	No serious	No serious inconsistency	No serious indirectness	Serious4	Strong association3	121	121	MD 0.76 lower (1.22 to 0.31 lower)	High	Critical
Pain scores at rest at 4 h (measured with: VAS; better indicated by lower values)
3	Randomized trials	No serious	No serious inconsistency	No serious indirectness	Serious2	None	80	79	MD 0.57 lower (1.11 to 0.03 lower)	Moderate	Critical
Pain scores at rest at 6 h (measured with: VAS; better indicated by lower values)
5	Randomized trials	Serious5	No serious inconsistency	No serious indirectness	Serious2	Strong association3	146	151	MD 0.87 lower (1.08 to 0.65 lower)	Moderate	Critical
Pain scores at rest at 12 h (measured with: VAS; better indicated by lower values)
4	Randomized trials	Serious1	No serious inconsistency	No serious indirectness	Serious	Strong association3	144	142	MD 0.78 lower (0.91 to 0.65 lower)	Moderate	Critical
Pain scores at rest at 24 h (measured with: VAS; better indicated by lower values)
8	Randomized trials	Serious6	No serious inconsistency	No serious indirectness	Serious2	Very strong association7	270	267	MD 0.55 lower (0.73 to 0.37 lower)	High	Critical
Pain scores during movement at 1 h (measured with: VAS; better indicated by lower values)
2	Randomized trials	No serious	No serious inconsistency	No serious indirectness	No serious imprecision	None	41	44	MD 1.04 lower (2.07 lower to 0 higher)	High	Critical
Pain scores during movement at 2 h (measured with: VAS; better indicated by lower values)
3	Randomized trials	No serious	No serious inconsistency	No serious indirectness	No serious imprecision	None	61	64	MD 1.47 lower (2.32 to 0.62 lower)	High	Critical
Pain scores during movement at 4 h (measured with: VAS; better indicated by lower values)
3	Randomized trials	No serious	No serious inconsistency	No serious indirectness	Serious5	None	62	65	MD 0.65 lower (1.24 to 0.06 lower)	Moderate	Critical
Pain scores during movement at 6 h (measured with: VAS; better indicated by lower values)
3	Randomized trials	No serious	No serious inconsistency	No serious indirectness	Serious6	None	62	65	MD 0.73 lower (1.23 to 0.24 lower)	Moderate	Critical
Pain scores during movement at 24 h (measured with: VAS; better indicated by lower values)
5	Randomized trials	Serious6	No serious inconsistency	No serious indirectness	Serious2	Strong association3	119	122	MD 0.85 lower (1.16 to 0.53 lower)	Moderate	Critical

¹One study did not mention the randomization method, and two studies did not mention how the blindness method was implemented.

²Some data were collected from charts by a measurement tool or converted by a formula.

³More than 200 patients were enrolled.

⁴One study did not mention the randomization method, and one study did not mention how the blindness method was implemented.

⁵Several studies did not mention the randomization and blindness methods.

⁶One study did not mention the randomization and blindness methods.

⁷More than 500 patients were enrolled.