The Efficacy of Acupuncture for the Treatment of Cervical Vertigo: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Zhuanzhuan Hou,Huade Chen,Huida Yu,Shibing Xu,Libing Cai,Weigang Wu,Qinglin Li

doi:10.1155/2017/7597363

Abstract

Objective This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for the treatment of cervical vertigo (CV). Methods Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) regarding effectiveness of acupuncture for treating CV were searched in 7 comprehensive databases prior to April 2016. The data analysis was performed by using RevMan version 5.3. Results A total of 10 studies with 914 participants were included. Results showed that acupuncture was more effective than conventional medicine therapy (CMT) in effectiveness, improvement rate of vertigo and headache, and increased average blood flow velocity of vertebral-basilar artery. In the subgroup analysis, the results did not change in different acupuncture methods and drug categories substantially. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the results of this meta-analysis were stable. Meanwhile, the long-term safety of acupuncture for CV still remains uncertain. GRADE analysis indicated that the quality of evidence for all outcomes was from very low to low which limited the value of the meta-analysis. Conclusion Based on the systematic review, acupuncture appeared to be a promising therapeutic approach for CV based on low or very low quality of evidence. However, large-scale and high-quality trials are required to provide stronger evidence for the conclusion.

Highlights

Cervical vertigo (CV) is a clinical syndrome caused by hyperostosis of cervical vertebra and degeneration of cervical intervertebral disc
Western medicine thinks [5] that hyperplasia and hypertrophy of the cervical vertebra, the movement of the vertebral body, and indirect compression from vertebral artery and the sympathetic nerve are the external factors of cervical vertigo (CV), and vertebral atherosclerosis and decreased vascular elasticity caused by abnormal hemodynamics are its pathological basis [6]
The full text of the remaining 60 articles was read and analyzed in detail, with 10 papers including an academic paper included for the systematic review

Summary

Introduction

Cervical vertigo (CV) is a clinical syndrome caused by hyperostosis of cervical vertebra and degeneration of cervical intervertebral disc. CV often has clinical manifestations of narrowing and insufficient blood supply of vertebral artery, such as dizziness, blurred vision, headache, nausea, vomiting, and even fainting [2]. These symptoms can be induced and aggravated by turning head and bending neck laterally to a certain position. The study found that the adult incidence of the disease is 10% [3] This disease can break out repeatedly, seriously develop for stroke [4], and bring bigger challenges to clinical treatment. Western medicine treatment including drug and surgery therapy had difficulty in obtaining satisfactory effect [7]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion