QL and TAP blocks cut 24-hour opioid use after kidney transplant; pain gains fall short of the clinical threshold
A Bayesian meta-analysis of 14 trials (903 participants) found quadratus lumborum and transversus abdominis plane blocks lowered pain at every pooled time point, but no pain comparison reached 80% probability of exceeding the 1.0-point MCID. Opioid use at 24 h fell by 15.5 MME with QL (95% CrI -23.6 to -6.7) and 10.5 MME with TAP (-14.4 to -5.5).
Why it matters. Suggests the main measurable benefit of these blocks in kidney recipients is opioid sparing; no technique was preferred.
Limitation. Certainty of evidence was very low, 12 eligible registered trials were unpublished, and graft function data were too sparse to pool.