Purpose: Chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP) presents a significant impact in the postoperative recovery, affecting patients’ outcomes and quality of life. Numerous prognostic prediction models have been developed to predict the risk of CPSP, however, the clinical utility remains variable. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to critically assessed and synthesize the existing CPSP prognostic prediction models in adult patients. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane library up to August 2024. A total of 22 models were included in the systematic review, with 19 models subsequently integrated into the meta-analysis. Results: The overall pooled C-index of the models was 0.79 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.75, 0.83; I² = 88.6%). For studies evaluating CPSP at 3 months postoperatively, the pooled C-index was 0.80 (95% CI: 0.73, 0.87; I² = 82.1%). At 4 months, the pooled C-index was 0.75 (95% CI: 0.62, 0.87; I² = 82.8%), while studies considered CPSP at 6 months showed a pooled C-index of 0.81 (95% CI: 0.73, 0.89; I² = 93.8%). For 12 months post-surgery, the C-index was 0.77 (95% CI: 0.74, 0.79; I² = 0%). Among models with external validation, the C-index was 0.76 (95% CI: 0.70, 0.82; I² = 68.2%). For orthopedic surgery, the C-index was 0.82 (95% CI: 0.74, 0.91; I² = 92.7%). For breast surgery, the C-index was 0.78 (95% CI: 0.75, 0.81; I² = 0%). For studies reported C-index, the C-index was 0.70 (95% CI: 0.66, 0.73; I² = 0%) while the C-index was 0.81 (95% CI: 0.77, 0.85; I² = 88%) for studies reported area under receiver operating characteristic curve. Conclusions: While prognostic prediction models demonstrated promising discriminative performance, the high overall risk of bias raises concerns about their quality and generalizability. These findings underscore the urgent need for rigorously designed and externally validated models to improve CPSP risk prediction in clinical practice.

Complications related to neuromuscular blockade (NMB) could occur during anesthesia induction, maintenance, and emergency. It is recommended that neuromuscular monitoring techniques be utilized perioperatively to avoid adverse outcomes. However, current neuromuscular monitoring methods possess different shortcomings. They are cumbersome to use, susceptible to disturbances, and have limited alternative monitoring sites. Phonomyography (PMG) monitoring based on the acoustic signals yielded by skeletal muscle contraction is emerging as an interesting and innovative method. This technique is characterized by its convenience, stable signal quality, and multimuscle recording ability and shows great potential in the application field. This review summarizes the progression of PMG on perioperative neuromuscular monitoring chronologically and presents the merits, demerits, and challenges of PMG-based equipment, aiming at underscoring the potential of PMG-based apparatuses for neuromuscular monitoring.

Objective. Minimizing acute postsurgical pain (APSP) remains a challenge, despite extensive research about it. This study comprehensively analyzed the literature on APSP to assess how the field has developed and where it may go in the future. Methods. Studies on APSP indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection and published from 2012 to 2021 were assessed for eligibility. Data from included studies were analyzed using CiteSpace, Python, and Microsoft. Results. Analysis of 5,236 publications on APSP showed that the number of articles per year has increased linearly. The United States leads other countries in terms of the number and centrality of publications. Cocitation analysis suggests that the field focused earlier on the incidence and risk factors of APSP, shifting later to a focus on the reduction and management of adverse outcomes due to APSP. The top-ranked keyword cluster during the study period was short-term outcomes (#0), followed by risk factors (#1). The strongest burst occurred for the keyword combination, followed by multimodal analgesia. The most recent burst occurred for the keywords regional analgesia, opioid use, erector spinae plane block, and infiltration. Conclusions. Hotspots in APSP research since 2012 have been incidence, risk factors, and control of negative outcomes. Future research is likely to concentrate on the use of opioids and technological innovations in regional anesthesia. Our findings may help APSP researchers and clinicians understand their field, optimize clinical practice, and plan future research.

Background and Objectives: Metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) is practiced worldwide. Sugammadex was proven to have multiple benefits in reversing neuromuscular blockade (NMB) for patients with obesity undergoing MBS, but its effects on complications of various systems are not clear and concrete. Materials and Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted as per the PRISMA guidelines and registered on the PROSPERO database (CRD42023491171). A systematic search was conducted in multiple databases for studies comparing sugammadex with neostigmine in MBS. Continuous data are reported as mean differences (MDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Dichotomous data are reported as relative risks (RRs) and 95% CIs. A two-sided p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Trial sequential analysis (TSA) was performed to evaluate the reliability of the conclusions. Results: Nine studies with 633 patients met the inclusion criteria. Compared with those from the neostigmine group, patients from the sugammadex group were characterized by a significantly shorter recovery time from the administration of the study drug to a train-of-four (TOF) ratio of ≥90% (MD [95% CI]: −15.40 [−26.64; −4.15]; I² = 96.6%; p = 0.0073; n = 380; random effects model), a lower risk of postoperative residual curarization (PORC) (RR [95% CI]: 0.18 [0.09; 0.38]; p < 0.0001; I² = 27.9%; n = 344; common effect model), postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) (RR [95% CI]: 0.67 [0.48; 0.93]; p = 0.0164; I² = 0%; n = 335; common effect model), and cardiovascular complications (RR [95% CI]: 0.48 [0.26; 0.88]; p = 0.0186; I² = 14.7%; n = 178; common effect model). TSA confirmed the conclusions regarding the recovery time and PORC risk. Conclusions: In conclusion, our systemic review and meta-analysis with TSA revealed that sugammadex provided a faster and more reliable choice to reverse NMB in patients with obesity undergoing MBS, with a lower risk of PORC. Sugammadex reduced the risk of cardiovascular complications and postoperative nausea and vomiting. However, the conclusions were not confirmed, and, so, further studies may be necessary.

Quantitative neuromuscular monitoring, as extolled by clinical guidelines, is advocated to circumvent the complications associated with neuromuscular blockers (NMBs), such as residual neuromuscular block (rNMB). Nonetheless, the worldwide utilization of such methods remains undesirable. Phonomyography (PMG) boasts the advantages of convenience, stability, and multi-muscle recording which may be a promising monitoring method. The purpose of this preliminary study is conducting a feasibility analysis and an effectiveness evaluation of a PMG prototype under general anesthesia. A prospective observational preliminary study was conducted. Twenty-five adults who had undergone none-cardiac elective surgery were enrolled. The PMG prototype and TOF-Watch SX simultaneously recorded the pharmacodynamic properties of single bolus rocuronium at the ipsilateral adductor pollicis for each patient. For the primary outcome, the time duration to 0.9 TOF ratio of the two devices reached no statistical significance (p > 0.05). For secondary outcomes, the multi-temporal neuromuscular-monitoring measurements between the two devices also reached no statistical significance (p > 0.05). What is more, both the Spearman’s and Pearson’s correlation tests revealed a strong correlation across all monitoring periods between the PMG prototype and TOF-Watch SX. Additionally, Bland–Altman plots demonstrated a good agreement between the two devices. Thus, the PMG prototype was a feasible, secure, and effective neuromuscular-monitoring technique during general anesthesia and was interchangeable with TOF-Watch SX.