Postoperative analgesic effectiveness of quadratus lumborum block: systematic review and meta-analysis for adult patients undergoing hip surgery

BACKGROUND: Quadratus lumborum block is a truncal block with several technique variations. It has been reported as providing effective analgesia for postoperative pain. The aim of this study is to determine the efficacy of the QL block in providing postoperative analgesia for hip surgery when compared with placebo or no block or other analgesic techniques. METHODS: Randomized trials evaluating quadratus lumborum block benefits in elective hip surgery were sought. The primary outcome was the 24 h opioid requirement after surgery. Two independent reviewers selected the studies and extracted the data. RESULTS: Thirteen randomized-controlled trials were included in this study. The included studies had significant heterogeneity regarding comparator groups; therefore, a limited quantitative analysis was undertaken for the comparison of QL block versus no block or placebo only. QL block reduced the opioid use by 15.78 (95% CI, 2.31 to 29.26) mg IME in the first postoperative 24 h compared with no block or placebo with no difference in static pain scores, pain grade was reduced by 2.95 (95% CI, 2.40 to 3.60) in the QL block group compared with placebo or no block in the first postoperative 24 h during movement. CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis indicates that QL block may be effective for analgesia in patients after hip surgery compared with placebo or no block. There is currently limited evidence comparing QL block with other analgesic techniques for hip surgery. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains Additional file available at 10.1186/s13018-022-03172-8.