Abstract
BACKGROUND: Pregabalin may have some potential in alleviating pain after thoracic surgery, and this meta-analysis aims to explore the impact of pregabalin on pain intensity for patients undergoing thoracic surgery. METHODS: PubMed, EMbase, Web of science, EBSCO and Cochrane library databases were systematically searched, and we included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effect of pregabalin on pain intensity after thoracic surgery. RESULTS: Five RCTs were finally included in the meta-analysis. Overall, compared with control intervention for thoracic surgery, pregabalin was associated with significantly reduced pain scores at 0 h (mean difference [MD]=-0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI]=-1.10 to -0.30; P = 0.0005), pain scores at 24 h (MD=-0.47; 95% CI=-0.75 to -0.18; P = 0.001) and neuropathic pain (odd ratio [OR] = 0.24; 95% CI = 0.12 to 0.47; P < 0.0001), but demonstrated no obvious impact on the incidence of dizziness (OR = 1.07; 95% CI = 0.15 to 7.46; P = 0.95), headache (OR = 1.00; 95% CI = 0.30 to 3.35; P = 1.00) or nausea (OR = 1.24; 95% CI = 0.46 to 3.35; P = 0.68). CONCLUSIONS: Pregabalin may be effective to alleviate the pain after thoracic surgery.