Analgesic Treatment in Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass Surgery: a Systematic Review of Randomized Trials

This review aimed to present an overview of the randomized controlled trials investigating analgesic regimens used in laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) surgery. Literature search was performed in PubMed and EMBASE databases in August 2013 in accordance to PRISMA guidelines. The literature search identified nine studies eligible for inclusion. The administration of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, local anesthetics (intraperitoneally or subfascially/subcutaneously), transversus abdominis plane block, dexmedetomidine, and ketamine may improve analgesia compared to placebo/controls in LRYGB. None of the studies incorporated multimodal procedure-specific analgesic regimens. The Oxford quality scoring system scores indicated a generally limited methodological quality of the included studies. This review documents a need for high-quality, procedure-specific literature concerning analgesic treatment in LRYGB surgery.