Table 2.

Study characteristics of all included studies

Treatment Modality	Reference	Design, N (# of patients)	Intervention
Physical Therapy	Ammitzbøll et al., 202011	Double-blinded RCT, 158	1-year progressive resistance training
	De Groef et al., 201012	Double-blinded RCT, 143	8 sessions of myofascial therapy
Cognitive Therapy	Lacroix et al., 201913	Prospective non-randomized study, 42	Perioperative hypnosedation
	Garssen et al., 201014	RCT, 70	Pre-surgical stress management training
Nerve Blocks	Besch et al., 201019	Retrospective comparative study, 191	GA with pectoral nerve block
	Fujii et al., 201820	Double-blinded RCT, 80	PECS II Block
	De Cassai et al., 201918	Prospective observational comparative study, 132	PECS II block
	Strazisar et al., 201415	Prospective randomized study, 60	Wound catheter with continuous infusion of local anesthetic
	Mohamed et al., 201817	Double-blinded RCT, 90	Wound irrigation with bupivacaine plus 5, 10, or 15 mg morphine
	Albi-Feldzer et al., 200016	Double-blinded RCT, 236	Wound infiltration with repeated injections of local anesthetic
	Shimizu et al., 201523	Retrospective cohort study, 46	Perioperative ultrasound-guided TPVB
	Karmakar et al., 201724	Double-blinded RCT, 177	Single injection or continuous infusion with catheter of TPVB
	Kamal et al., 201925	Double-blinded RCT, 80	TPVB of bupivacaine with 0.5 mg/kg or 1 mg/kg ketamine
	Kairaluoma et al., 200626	Double-blinded RCT, 59	Pre-incisional PVB
	Elkaradawy et al., 201228	RCT, 50	Ultrasound-guided TPVB with GA
	Ilfeld et al., 201827	Double-blinded RCT, 60	Ultrasound-guided continuous PVB catheter
	Gacio et al., 201821	Non-randomized prospective observational study, 66	GA and single-injection PVB
	Qian et al., 201922	Double-blinded RCT, 184	Ultrasound-guided single-injection multilevel TPVB
Anesthesia	Cho et al., 201229	Retrospective comparative study, 228	Propofol vs. sevoflurane anesthesia
	Lefebvre-Kuntz et al., 201532	Prospective cohort study, 328	Halogenated anesthetic vs. propofol
	Grigoras et al., 201330	Double-blinded RCT, 36	Perioperative IV lidocaine
	Terkawi et al., 201738	Double-blinded RCT, 61	Intraoperative IV lidocaine infusion
	Kim et al., 201737	Double-blinded RCT, 116	Intraoperative systemic lidocaine vs. magnesium
	Kendall et al., 201834	Double-blinded RCT, 121	Perioperative IV lidocaine
	Khan et al., 2019*35	Double-blinded RCT, 100	Perioperative pregabalin and lidocaine infusion
	Jain et al., 201236	Double-blinded RCT, 69	Intraoperative IV dexmedetomidine
	Kang et al., 202033	Double-blinded RCT, 168	Perioperative IV ketamine
	Sun et al., 201231	Double-blinded RCT, 60	Perioperative IV flurbiprofen axetil
Oral medications	Fassoulaki et al., 200239	Double-blinded RCT, 67	Perioperative oral mexiletine vs. gabapentin capsules
	Lee et al., 201340	Single-blinded RCT, 51	Multimodal analgesia (perioperative pregabalin and PVB catheter of local anesthetic)
	Vig et al., 201942	Double-blinded RCT, 71	Perioperative pregabalin
	Reyad et al., 201943	Double-blinded RCT, 181	Perioperative pregabalin
	Fassoulaki et al., 200144	Double-blinded RCT, 96	Perioperative mexiletine and regional ropivacaine block
	Amr et al., 200946	Double-blinded RCT, 150	Perioperative gabapentin and venlafaxine
	Khan et al., 2019*35	Double-blinded RCT, 100	Perioperative pregabalin and lidocaine infusion
	Hah et al., 199645	Double-blinded RCT, 41	Perioperative gabapentin
	Van Helmond et al., 201641	Double-blinded RCT, 94	Perioperative parecoxib injection and celecoxib
	Fassoulaki et al., 200547	Double-blinded RCT, 44	Multimodal analgesia (Gabapentin, EMLA cream near incision, irrigation of brachial plexus block)
	Na et al., 201848	Double-blinded RCT, 83	Intraoperative IV nefopam
Surgical interventions	Salmon et al., 199855	Double-blinded RCT, 128	Preservation of ICBN
	Torresan et al., 200751	Double-blinded RCT, 85	Preservation of ICBN
	Freeman et al., 200353	Double-blinded RCT, 73	Preservation of ICBN
	Taira et al., 201454	Non-blinded RCT, 140	Preservation of ICBN
	Tasmuth et al., 199950	Retrospective observational study, 221	High-volume surgical units vs. small-volume units
	Yang et al., 201252	Double-blinded RCT, 99	Spray of HA–CMC gel onto surface of pectoralis major and serratus anterior muscles
Topical medications	Fassoulaki et al., 200056	Double-blinded RCT, 45	Intraoperative EMLA on sternal area

*Included in two categories

RCT – Randomized controlled trial

GA – Generalized anesthesia

TPVB – Thoracic paravertebral block

ICBN – Intercostal-brachial nerve

HA–CMC – Hyaluronic acid–carboxymethyl cellulose

IV – Intravenous