Opioid-Sparing Analgesic Effects of Peripheral Nerve Blocks in Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy: A Systematic Review

Multimodal analgesic regimens incorporating peripheral nerve blocks (PNBs) have demonstrated reduced postoperative pain, opioid use, and recovery time in various disease states. However, this remains a subject of limited investigation in the percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) domain. In the face of an ongoing opioid epidemic and collective push to enhance prescribing stewardship, we sought to examine the potential opioid-sparing effect of PNBs in PCNL. A systematic review of Embase and PubMed was performed to identify all randomized controlled trials evaluating the use of a PNB with general anesthesia (GA) vs GA alone for pain control following PCNL. Studies evaluating neuraxial (epidural and spinal) anesthesia and those without GA as the control arm were excluded. Seventeen trials evaluating 1,012 procedures were included. Five different blocks were identified and evaluated: paravertebral (n = 8), intercostal nerve (n = 3), quadratus lumborum (n = 2), transversus abdominis plane (n = 1), and erector spinae (n = 3). Nine of 16 (56%) studies observed lower pain scores with PNB use throughout the 24-hour postop period. By comparison, improved pain scores with PNBs were limited to the early (<6 hours) recovery period in five studies and two found no difference. Total analgesic and opioid requirements were significantly higher in the GA control arm in nearly all studies (12/14, 86%). Operative times were similar and there were no differences in rates of intercostal access or nephrostomy tube insertion between study arms in any trial. While greater analgesic use with GA alone likely minimizes or obscures differences in patient-reported pain scores, PNBs may offer a significant opioid-sparing analgesic effect during postoperative recovery after PCNL.