What does this research mean for the field?

Intravenous or perineural administration of esketamine appears to lower the risk of rebound pain and improve analgesia after peripheral nerve block without increasing side effects. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.SYNTHESIS. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To evaluate the effect of esketamine on rebound pain following peripheral nerve block procedures.

March 22, 2026

Ketamine/esketamine for preventing rebound pain after peripheral nerve block: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Key Points

To evaluate the effect of esketamine on rebound pain following peripheral nerve block procedures.
Conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Analyzed the impact of esketamine administered intravenously or perineurally.
Assessed the incidence of rebound pain and side effects across studies.
Esketamine lowers the risk of rebound pain compared to controls.
Improvements in analgesia were seen without a significant increase in side effects.
Findings are limited by the small number of studies and clinical heterogeneity.

Abstract

Esketamine, administered intravenously or perineurally, appears to lower the risk of rebound pain and improve analgesia without increasing side effects. However, these conclusions are tempered by the limited number of studies and some clinical heterogeneity. Therefore, the current analysis serves more as a working hypothesis generating interest for future large, high-quality trials, which are needed to confirm these results and define optimal dosing strategies before clear clinical recommendations can be made.

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Ketamine/esketamine for preventing rebound pain after peripheral nerve block: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Key Points

Abstract

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