The efficacy of electroanalgesia in postoperative pain management after knee arthroplasty surgery. A systematic review with meta-analysis

Objectivethe aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the efficacy of electro-analgesia after knee arthroplasty surgery.Methodsthe literature search involved multiple databases. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included and pain assessment or analgesic consumption were considered as outcomes. Risk of Bias analysis, me-ta-analysis and GRADE method was applied.Results11 articles were selected for quantitative data analysis. In the meta-analyses for VAS on first and third day after surgery, the mean difference was lower in the intervention group by 0.5 (CI: -1.03; 0.03) and 0.66 (CI: -1.2; -0.11) points with a significance equal to 0.07 and 0.02 respectively but with high heterogeneity. On the fifth day the difference disappeared (mean difference: -0.02; CI: -0.75, 0.71; p = 0.96).ConclusionsThere is no evidence to support the effectiveness of electro-analgesia treatment following knee replacement surgery. A low certainty of evidence showed a limited effect of this treatment modality.