Abstract
Background Postcholecystectomy syndrome (PCS) has become a common postoperative syndrome that requires systematic and comprehensive therapy to achieve adequate clinical control. Acupuncture and related therapies have shown clinical effects for PCS in many studies. However, systematic reviews/meta-analyses (SRs/MAs) for them are lacking. Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of PCS using randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methods Potentially eligible studies were searched in the following electronic databases up to 1 February 2020: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science (WoS), Chinese databases (Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WanFang Database (WF), and China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP)), and other sources (WHO ICTRP, ChiCTR, Clinical Trials, and Grey Literature Database). The RevMan 5.3 was employed for analyses. The Cochrane Collaboration' risk of bias tool was used to assess the risk of bias (ROB). The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach was used to assess the quality of the evidence. Results A total of 14 RCTs with 1593 participants were included in this SR. MA showed that acupuncture in combination with conventional medicine (CM) did not show statistical differences in reduction in pain. However, acupuncture in combination with CM significantly reduced the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) (RR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.55–0.92) and improved gastrointestinal function recovery compared to the CM group. Acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese medicine and CM, and acupuncture as monotherapy may improve gastrointestinal function recovery with acceptable adverse events. Conclusion Acupuncture may be an effective and safe treatment for PCS. However, this study lacks conclusive evidence due to poor quality evidence, limited data, and clinical heterogeneity of acupuncture methods in the included studies.
Highlights
Cholecystectomy is one of the surgical procedures commonly performed to treat gallbladder disease [1]
Summarize the main findings including the strength of evidence for each main outcome; Summary of evidence 24 consider their relevance to key groups
We provide prospects and suggestions for future research
Summary
Cholecystectomy is one of the surgical procedures commonly performed to treat gallbladder disease [1]. E incidence of PCS has been reported to be at least 15%, and the onset of symptoms ranges from days to years [8, 10]. It seriously affects the quality of life of patients and accelerates the deterioration of patients’ diseases; so, the demand for treatment is increasing. Acupuncture and related therapies have shown clinical effects for PCS in many studies. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of PCS using randomized controlled trials (RCTs). This study lacks conclusive evidence due to poor quality evidence, limited data, and clinical heterogeneity of acupuncture methods in the included studies
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