# Topics and Trends in Most Cited Anesthesia and Pain Management Papers, Class of 2026

*Canonical URL: https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/anesthesia-and-pain-management/2026*

## What topics and trends defined most-cited Anesthesia and Pain Management research in the Class of 2026?

Ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia, bupivacaine, multimodal analgesia, and opioid-sparing effect define the Class of 2026 anesthesia cohort, with nerve blocks, numeric rating scales, and propofol induction co-prominent. Ultrasound-guided blocks and bupivacaine rose sharply from Class of 2025, while randomized controlled trial framing, esketamine, and cesarean-delivery studies receded among top-cited papers.

## At a glance

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Field | Anesthesia and Pain Management |
| Cohort label | Class of 2026 (2024 publications) |
| Papers analyzed | 9,014 |
| Papers ranked | 20 |
| Top topics in ranked papers | Ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia, bupivacaine, multimodal analgesia, opioid-sparing effect, numeric rating scale |
| Publication window | Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024 |
| Eligibility | Research articles; reviews excluded |
| Citation window | 18 months post-publication |
| 18m citation range | 18–38 |
| Data source | OpenAlex · Retrieved Jul 2026 |
| License | CC BY 4.0 |

## Rankings

| Rank | Title | Authors | Corresponding authors | Affiliation | Journal | 18m citations | DOI |
| ---: | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---: | --- |
| 1 | Anaesthetic efficacy and postinduction hypotension with remimazolam compared with propofol: a multicentre randomised controlled trial | J Fechner, K El-Boghdadly, D R Spahn, J Motsch, M M R F Struys, O Duranteau, M T Ganter, T Richter, M W Hollmann, R Rossaint, S Bercker, S Rex, B Drexler, F Schippers, A Morley, H Ihmsen, E Kochs, Surgery Under Remimazolam - Total IntraVenous Anaesthesia (SURE-TIVA) Trial Group | J. Fechner | the Surgery Under Remimazolam -Total IntraVenous Anaesthesia (SURE-TIVA) Trial Group, Spain | Anaesthesia | 38 | 10.1111/anae.16205 |
| 2 | Complication Rates After Ultrasonography-Guided Nerve Blocks Performed in the Emergency Department | Andrew Goldsmith, Lachlan Driver, Nicole M Duggan, Matthew Riscinti, David Martin, Michael Heffler, Hamid Shokoohi, Andrea Dreyfuss, Jordan Sell, Calvin Brown, Christopher Fung, Leland Perice, Daniel Bennett, Natalie Truong, S Zan Jafry, Michael Macias, Joseph Brown, Arun Nagdev | Andrew Goldsmith | Lahey Hospital and Medical Center, United States | JAMA Network Open | 37 | 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.44742 |
| 3 | Opioid Prescribing for Acute Pain Management in Children and Adolescents in Outpatient Settings: Clinical Practice Guideline | Scott E Hadland, Rita Agarwal, Sudha R Raman, Michael J Smith, Amy Bryl, Jeremy Michel, Lorraine I Kelley-Quon, Mehul V Raval, Madeline H Renny, Beth Larson-Steckler, Scott Wexelblatt, Robert T Wilder, Susan K Flinn | Scott E Hadland | Mass General for Children, United States | PEDIATRICS | 36 | 10.1542/peds.2024-068752 |
| 4 | Perioperative Adjunctive Esketamine for Postpartum Depression Among Women Undergoing Elective Cesarean Delivery | Yu Chen, Yu Guo, Han Wu, Yi-Jie Tang, Suren Rao Sooranna, Li Zhang, Ting Chen, Xi-Yuan Xie, Liang-Cheng Qiu, Xiao-Dan Wu | Xiaodan Wu | Fujian Medical University, China | JAMA Network Open | 32 | 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.0953 |
| 5 | Serratus Anterior Plane Blocks for Early Rib Fracture Pain Management | Christopher Partyka, Stephen Asha, Melanie Berry, Ian Ferguson, Brian Burns, Katerina Tsacalos, Daniel Gaetani, Matthew Oliver, Georgina Luscombe, Anthony Delaney, Kate Curtis | Christopher Partyka | Royal North Shore Hospital, Australia | JAMA Surgery | 30 | 10.1001/jamasurg.2024.0969 |
| 6 | Injectable Hydrogel Delivery System with High Drug Loading for Prolonging Local Anesthesia | Yongchun Li, You Chen, Yifan Xue, Jinlong Jin, Yixin Xu, Weian Zeng, Jie Liu, Jingdun Xie | Jie Liu, Jingdun Xie | Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, China | Advanced Science | 30 | 10.1002/advs.202309482 |
| 7 | Chronic postsurgical pain | Valeria Martinez, Thomas Lehman, Patricia Lavand'homme, Hakim Harkouk, Eija Kalso, Esther M Pogatzki-Zahn, Marcus Komann, Winfried Meissner, Claudia Weinmann, Dominique Fletcher | Dominique Fletcher | Raymond Poincaré Hospital, France | European Journal of Anaesthesiology | 29 | 10.1097/eja.0000000000001974 |
| 8 | Trends in Opioid Prescribing and New Persistent Opioid Use After Surgery in the United States | Alexandra O Luby, Dominic Alessio-Bilowus, Hsou Mei Hu, Chad M Brummett, Jennifer F Waljee, Mark C Bicket | Alexandra O. Luby, Dominic Alessio-Bilowus, Hsou Mei Hu, Jennifer F. Waljee | University of Michigan, United States | Annals of Surgery | 27 | 10.1097/sla.0000000000006461 |
| 9 | Comparison of opioid‐free and opioid‐inclusive propofol anaesthesia for thyroid and parathyroid surgery: a randomised controlled trial | Dan Wang, Yan Sun, Ya-Juan Zhu, Xi-Sheng Shan, Hong Liu, Fu-Hai Ji, Ke Peng | Ke Peng | First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, China | Anaesthesia | 27 | 10.1111/anae.16382 |
| 10 | Intravenous Lidocaine for Gut Function Recovery in Colonic Surgery | Hugh Paterson, Thenmalar Vadiveloo, Karen Innes, Angie Balfour, Marek Atter, Andrew Stoddart, Seonaidh Cotton, Robert Arnott, Lorna Aucott, Zoe Batham, Irwin Foo, Graeme MacLennan, Susan Nimmo, Doug Speake, John Norrie | Hugh Paterson | University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom | JAMA | 27 | 10.1001/jama.2024.23898 |
| 11 | Cardiac arrest in obstetric patients receiving anaesthetic care: results from the 7th National Audit Project of the Royal College of Anaesthetists | D N Lucas, E Kursumovic, T M Cook, A D Kane, R A Armstrong, F Plaat, J Soar | D. N. Lucas | London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, United Kingdom | Anaesthesia | 24 | 10.1111/anae.16204 |
| 12 | EXPERIENCE OF THE ULTRASOUND-ASSISTED NERVE BLOCKADE OF THE FASCIAL PLANE BY ERECTOR SPINE BLOCK IN ACUTE PANCREATITIS | M. А. Shapkin, М.А. Loginov, R. A. Cherpakov, I. Yu. Sholin, V. S. Suryakhin, А. К. Шабанов | M. А. Shapkin | Buyanov Moscow City Clinical Hospital, RU | Scientific research of the SCO countries: synergy and integration | 24 | 10.34660/inf.2023.35.17.077 |
| 13 | Addition of Liposomal Bupivacaine to Standard Bupivacaine versus Standard Bupivacaine Alone in the Supraclavicular Brachial Plexus Block: A Randomized Controlled Trial | Timmy Chi Wing Chan, Janus Siu Him Wong, Fengfeng Wang, Christian Xinshuo Fang, Colin Shing-Yat Yung, Manson Tak Hei Chan, Will Shing Him Chan, Stanley Sau Ching Wong | Stanley Sau Ching Wong | University of Hong Kong, China | Anesthesiology | 23 | 10.1097/aln.0000000000005035 |
| 14 | Pharmacogenetic Approaches in Personalized Medicine for Postoperative Pain Management | Maria Leonor Ferreira do Couto, Sara Fonseca, Daniel Humberto Pozza | Daniel Humberto Pozza | University of Porto, Portugal | Biomedicines | 21 | 10.3390/biomedicines12040729 |
| 15 | An Engineered Bionic Nanoparticle Sponge as a Cytokine Trap and Reactive Oxygen Species Scavenger to Relieve Disc Degeneration and Discogenic Pain | Wenbo Yang, Kanglu Li, Qing Pan, Wei Huang, Yan Xiao, Hui Lin, Sheng Liu, Xuanzuo Chen, Xiao Lv, Shiqing Feng, Zengwu Shao, Xiangcheng Qing, Yizhong Peng | Zengwu Shao, Xiangcheng Qing, Yizhong Peng | Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China | ACS Nano | 20 | 10.1021/acsnano.3c08097 |
| 16 | Comparison of remimazolam-based and propofol-based total intravenous anesthesia on hemodynamics during anesthesia induction in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement: a randomized controlled trial | Taichi Kotani, Mitsuru Ida, Yusuke Naito, Masahiko Kawaguchi | Mitsuru Ida | Nara Medical University, Japan | Journal of Anesthesia | 20 | 10.1007/s00540-024-03311-x |
| 17 | Unilateral sacral erector spinae plane block for hip fracture surgery | F Marrone, S Paventi, M Tomei, S Failli, S Crecco, C Pullano | Francesco Marrone | Santo Spirito Hospital, Italy | Anaesthesia Reports | 20 | 10.1002/anr3.12269 |
| 18 | Effectiveness of the Bilateral and Bilevel Erector Spinae Plane Block (ESPB) in Pediatric Idiopathic Scoliosis Surgery: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Controlled Trial | Małgorzata Domagalska, Bahadir Ciftsi, Piotr Janusz, Tomasz Reysner, Przemysław Daroszewski, Grzegorz Kowalski, Katarzyna Wieczorowska-Tobis, Tomasz Kotwicki | Małgorzata Domagalska, Tomasz Reysner, Grzegorz Kowalski, Katarzyna Wieczorowska–Tobis | Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poland | Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics | 19 | 10.1097/bpo.0000000000002707 |
| 19 | Effect of remimazolam versus propofol on hypotension after anesthetic induction in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting: A randomized controlled trial | Jae-Woo Ju, Dong Ju Lee, Jaeyeon Chung, Seohee Lee, Youn Joung Cho, Yunseok Jeon, Karam Nam | Karam Nam | Seoul National University Hospital, Republic of Korea | Journal of Clinical Anesthesia | 19 | 10.1016/j.jclinane.2024.111580 |
| 20 | WALANT surgery of the hand: state of the art | Ilse Degreef, Donald H Lalonde | Ilse Degreef | Leuven University Hospitals, Belgium | EFORT Open Reviews | 18 | 10.1530/eor-24-0033 |

## Topic trends

### What Topics Define the Class of 2026?

The informative word cloud across the 50 highest 18-month-cited anesthesia and pain management papers reveals a field organized around regional techniques, local anesthetics, and opioid-sparing perioperative care—not generic trial-design labels. Ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia and bupivacaine each lead at 9 of 50 papers (normalized frequency 0.18), underscoring how image-guided nerve blocks and long-acting local anesthetic choice anchor influential 2024 work. Multimodal analgesia (7 papers, 0.14), numeric rating scale (7, 0.14), and opioid-sparing effect (7, 0.14) form a second tier focused on outcome measurement and reduced opioid exposure. Opioid consumption reduction (6, 0.12) and propofol (6, 0.12) sit alongside erector spinae plane block (5, 0.10), oral morphine equivalents (5, 0.10), and postoperative nausea and vomiting (5, 0.10)—reflecting sustained interest in fascial-plane blocks, standardized opioid metrics, and antiemetic endpoints. Mid-sized terms cluster around cesarean delivery, esketamine, opioid-related adverse events, dexamethasone adjuvants, and emerging safety signals such as hypoxemia and postinduction hypotension. Peripheral nerve blocks, labour analgesia, remimazolam, and quality-of-recovery instruments appear at lower but visible prominence. After informativeness filtering, broad labels such as randomized controlled trial and postoperative pain management recede, leaving a portrait of a specialty prioritizing ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia, bupivacaine-based protocols, and multimodal opioid-sparing strategies in the highest-impact 2024 publications.

*Leading research themes*

### How Did Topics Shift from the Class of 2025 to the Class of 2026?

Comparing normalized concept frequencies between the Class of 2025 (2023 publications) and Class of 2026 (2024 publications) cohorts shows a reorientation of early-high-impact anesthesia research toward ultrasound-guided regional techniques, bupivacaine protocols, and opioid-sparing perioperative strategies. Ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia exhibited the largest gain (+0.18 normalized frequency; 0 versus 9 papers), followed by bupivacaine (+0.14; 2 versus 9) and opioid-sparing effect (+0.12; 1 versus 7). Erector spinae plane block (+0.06), oral morphine equivalents (+0.06), and opioid consumption reduction (+0.04) also rose, consistent with expanding fascial-plane block trials and standardized opioid-outcome reporting among top-cited work. The topic evolution card shows Class of 2026 bars extending furthest for ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia, bupivacaine, multimodal analgesia, numeric rating scale, and opioid-sparing effect—topics aligned with image-guided nerve blocks, multimodal protocols, and reduced postoperative opioid exposure. Conversely, randomized controlled trial framing showed the steepest decline (−0.14; 19 versus 12 papers), reflecting reduced dominance of generic trial-design vocabulary after informativeness filtering. Esketamine (−0.08; 8 versus 4), cesarean delivery (−0.06; 7 versus 4), and postoperative nausea and vomiting (−0.06) also receded, alongside modest drops for spinal anesthesia and opioid-free anesthesia. Together, these shifts suggest that the most-cited 2024 papers emphasize specific regional-anesthesia techniques, bupivacaine-based analgesia, and opioid-sparing multimodal care over broad trial labels and declining esketamine-centric narratives.

*How topics shifted year over year*

## Cite this ranking

```
Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited Anesthesia and Pain Management Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/anesthesia-and-pain-management/2026. Accessed 2026-07-14.

Zheng Su, Tinsley Li, Thematic Shifts in Early-High-Impact Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Research: A Bibliometric and Semantic Analysis. bioRxiv 2026.07.04.736459; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.04.736459
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