Local anesthesia for transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy of the prostate: A meta-analysis

A meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the efficacy of local anesthesia in alleviating pain during prostate biopsy. We searched relevant articles in PubMed and Embase. The included studies should be randomized controlled trials (RCT) using local anesthesia to alleviate pain during biopsy, which was recorded by a pain scale. Analgesic efficacy of different local anesthesia techniques were analyzed, including intrarectal local anesthesia (IRLA), periprostatic nerve block (PNB), pelvic plexus block (PPB) and intraprostatic local anesthesia (IPLA). We included 46 RCTs. PNB significantly reduced pain score compared with placebo (-1.27 [95% confidence interval [95% CI] -1.72, -0.82]) or no injection (-1.01 [95% CI -1.2, -0.82]). IRLA with prilocaine-lidocaine cream could also reduced pain (-0.45 [95% CI -0.76, -0.15]), while the IRLA with lidocaine gel was not effective (-0.1 [95% CI -0.24, 0.04]). PNB lateral to the neurovascular bundle had better analgesic effect than at prostate apex (P = 0.02). Combination use of PPB and IRLA considerably alleviated pain of patients compared with the combination of PNB and IRLA (-1.32 [95% CI -1.59, -1.06]). In conclusion, local anesthesia could alleviate patients' pain during the prostate biopsy. PNB was not so effective as PPB.