comparison of regional anesthesia and general anesthesia on clinical outcomes of upper extremity fracture patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Upper extremity fractures often require surgery, and effective pain management is crucial. general anesthesia (ga) is widely used but may cause systemic side effects. regional anesthesia (ra) provides localized pain control with fewer complications. this systematic review and meta-analysis compared ra and ga in terms of postoperative pain intensity and functional outcomes using the visual analog scale (vas) and disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and hand (dash) scores. a systematic review was conducted following prisma guidelines using databases such as pubmed, cochrane library, springerlink, and science direct. pain levels were assessed using vas, while functional recovery was measured using dash scores and recovery time. study quality was evaluated using the robins-i tool, and data were analyzed using review manager (revman) 5.4. eleven studies involving 1,167 patients were included. ra significantly reduced post-operative pain (p < 0.00001) and improved functional outcomes (p < 0.00001), with higher dash scores. ra also resulted in a shorter recovery time and reduced hospital stay due to lower analgesic needs. regional anesthesia provides better post-operative pain control, faster recovery, and fewer complications than general anesthesia. it is recommended as the preferred technique for upper extremity fracture surgery.