Efficacy of Lignocaine with Buprenorphine versus Lignocaine in the Management of Postoperative Pain after Minor Oral Surgical Procedures: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

We aimed to review the efficacy of lignocaine with buprenorphine versus lignocaine alone in the management of postoperative pain after minor oral surgical procedures. Randomized controlled trials evaluating the efficacy of use of lignocaine with buprenorphine versus lignocaine for intra-oral procedures were included by searching multiple databases. Outcomes assessed were onset of the time of anesthesia in seconds, duration of postoperative analgesia, postoperative pain (maximal follow-up), the number of rescue analgesics required, and adverse events. The search strategy yielded 167 publications for the title and abstract screening out of which only two trials were included for full-text screening. There was considerable heterogeneity among the included studies with regards to the outcomes assessed. The need for rescue analgesics was the only outcome that was included for meta-analyses. Forest plot showed that lignocaine with buprenorphine compared to lignocaine showed a significantly lower requirement of rescue analgesics (–0.22[–2.9,–1.55]). No trial reported any adverse effects. The results show that lignocaine with buprenorphine is effective in reducing the number of rescue analgesics required by the patient.