Comparison of supraclavicular block with infraclavicular block for distal arm surgeries: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies

Abstract

Background: Supraclavicular and infraclavicular nerve block are commonly used for the analgesia of distal arm surgeries, and this meta-analysis aims to compare their analgesic efficacy for distal arm surgeries. Methods: We searched several databases including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, EBSCO, and Cochrane library databases, and selected the randomized controlled trials exploring the analgesic efficacy of supraclavicular block versus infraclavicular block for distal arm surgeries. This meta-analysis was conducted using the random-effect or fixed-effect model based on the heterogeneity. Results: Six randomized controlled trials were included in this meta-analysis. Compared with infraclavicular nerve block for distal arm surgeries, supraclavicular nerve block was associated with substantially reduced complete sensory block (odds ratio [OR] = 0.41; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.19–0.88; P = .02) and block performance time (standard mean difference [SMD] = −3.06; 95% CI = −5.82–−0.31; P = .03), but had no effect on duration of analgesia (SMD = −0.15; 95% CI = −0.49–0.18; P = .36), time to sensory block (SMD = −0.41; 95% CI = −2.28–1.47; P = .67), vascular puncture (OR = 1.03; 95% CI = 0.11–10.05; P = .98) or adverse events (OR = 0.70; 95% CI = 0.12–4.04; P = .69). Conclusions: Infraclavicular nerve block may be superior to supraclavicular nerve block for the analgesia of distal arm surgeries but needs increased block performance time.