Quality of Evidence Supporting the Role of Acupuncture for the Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Jinke Huang,Fengyun Wang,Mengxiong Lu,Xiangxue Ma,Xudong Tang,Kunli Zhang,Yijun Zheng,Jinxin Ma,Yitian Wang,Noureddin Nakhostin Ansari

doi:10.1155/2021/2752246

Abstract

Objectives To systematically collate, appraise, and synthesize the current evidence on acupuncture for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Methods Systematic reviews (SRs)/meta-analyses (MAs) of acupuncture for IBS were searched in eight databases. For quality evaluation of the enrolled studies, Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR-2) was used for methodological quality, Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) for reporting quality, and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) for evidence quality. Results Ten studies were included in our review. According to AMSTAR-2, only one study met all the criteria and was rated as high methodological quality, and the rest were rated as low or very low methodological quality. According to the PRISMA checklist, most of the items were fully reported, with the exception of Q5 (protocol and registration), Q8 (search), and Q27 (funding). With the GRADE system, no outcome measure was rated as high quality. Conclusions Acupuncture may be a promising therapy for IBS. However, this conclusion must be treated with caution since the quality of SRs/MAs providing evidence is generally low.

Highlights

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by recurrent abdominal pain accompanied by abnormal or altered defecation habits [1]
E effect of acupuncture on IBS was better than that of conventional medication (CM), which could be used as an adjuvant therapy in clinical practice
Acupuncture was significant in relieving the symptoms of IBS. e effect of acupuncture on IBS was better than that of CM, which could be used as an adjuvant therapy in clinical practice

Summary

Introduction

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by recurrent abdominal pain accompanied by abnormal or altered defecation habits [1]. It is reported that the annual direct cost per patient due to IBS is estimated to be $348 to $8,750 and the indirect cost is $355 to $3,344 [7]. E pathophysiology of IBS is poorly understood and is currently thought to represent a complex interplay among the gut microbiota, mucosal immune system, impaired mucosal barrier function, visceral hypersensitivity, gut motility, and alterations in the gut-brain axis [8,9,10]. Acupuncture is becoming more widely used, and the number of published systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analyses (MAs) has increased, but the evidence they provide for acupuncture for IBS is not always consistent.

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Discussion

Conclusion