Analgesic effect of pulsed electromagnetic fields for mammaplasty: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies

BACKGROUND: Pulsed electromagnetic fields shows some potential in alleviating pain after mammaplasty. This systematic review and meta-analysis is conducted to investigate the analgesic efficacy of pulsed electromagnetic fields for pain control after mammaplasty. METHODS: The databases including PubMed, EMbase, Web of science, EBSCO, and Cochrane library databases are systematically searched for collecting the randomized controlled trials regarding the impact of pulsed electromagnetic fields on pain intensity after mammaplasty. RESULTS: This meta-analysis has included 4 randomized controlled trials. Compared with control group after mammaplasty, pulsed electromagnetic fields results in remarkably reduced pain scores on 1 day (MD = −1.34; 95% confidence interval [CI] = −2.23 to −0.45; P = .003) and 3 days (MD = −1.86; 95% CI = −3.23 to −0.49; P = .008), as well as analgesic consumption (Std. MD = −5.64; 95% CI = −7.26 to −4.02; P < .00001). CONCLUSIONS: Pulsed electromagnetic fields is associated with substantially reduced pain intensity after mammaplasty.