Analgesic efficacy of erector spinae plane block in arthroscopic shoulder surgery: a systemic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trial

Review question / Objective: Erector spinae plane block (ESPB) has been employed in arthroscopic shoulder surgery (ASS) as an alternative novel interfacial plane block. However, its analgesic efficacy is still controversial. Whether ESPB could improve analgesic efficacy in ASS is what the current meta-analysis seeks to find out. Information sources: We searched different databases including the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science from inception to November 29, 2022, using medical subject headings (MeSH) and free-text terms without language restrictions. The primary purpose of searching was for the selection of RCTs for meta-analysis but also to avoid unplanned duplication and compare reported review methods from other systematic reviews. The following search terms were used for the search of each database: “arthroscopic shoulder surgery”, “shoulder surgery”, “total shoulder arthroplasty”, “shoulder arthroscopy”, and “erector spinae plane block”, “erector spinae muscle”. We also searched for grey literature by supplementary hand searching.