Safety Of Acupuncture Research Articles

Efficacy and safety of abdominal acupuncture in Parkinson's disease: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

Parkinson disease (PD) is a worldwide spread neurodegenerative disorder. Dopamine replacement therapy is currently the mainstream treatment, which can alleviate the symptoms but induces motor complications. Acupuncture therapy is effective for PD. As a form of acupuncture, the abdominal acupuncture has been used to relieve symptoms in patients with PD, but its effectiveness and safety have not yet reached a definitive conclusion. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis protocol is planned to evaluate the efficacy and safety of abdominal acupuncture for PD patients. Six English databases (PubMed, Web of Science, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Springer Cochrane Library, and WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform) and 4 Chinese databases (Wan Fang Database, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database) will be searched normatively according to the rule of each database from the inception to August 20, 2022. Two reviewers will independently conduct article selection, data collection, and risk of bias evaluation. Any disagreement will be resolved by discussion with the third reviewer. Either the fixed-effects or random-effects model will be used for data synthesis based on the heterogeneity test. Either the fixed-effects or random-effects model will be used for data synthesis based on the heterogeneity test. The analysis will be conducted by RevMan 5.3 software according to Cochrane Handbook. The aim of this systematic review is to provide high-quality evidence to assess the efficacy and safety of abdominal acupuncture for patients in Parkinson's disease. The efficacy and safety of abdominal acupuncture for PD will be comprehensively assessed from the outcomes, including the effectiveness rate. The Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and Webster scale, Motor symptom scores utilizing UPDRS III scale, Dopamine (DA) content, and Nonmotor symptom scores employing UPDRS I scale, Activities of daily living using UDPRS II; Complications of treatment applying UPDRS IV, antioxidant ability: super oxide dismutase activity and Lipide Peroxide (LPO) content, Content of inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β, and adverse events as the secondary outcome. This systematic review will explore whether abdominal acupuncture is an effective and safe intervention for patients in Parkinson's disease.

The efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of taste disorders after rehabilitation from COVID-19: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

Since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, although it has had a serious impact on people's lives and health in itself, the sequelae that accompany coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have also had a serious impact on people's mental health and quality of life. Taste disorder (TD) is one of the sequelae of COVID-19. Patients may experience reduced or even absent taste sensation, which seriously affects their real life. The efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of taste disorders has been well reported, but there is a lack of evidence-based medical evidence. Therefore, this study set out to systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of post-COVID-19 taste disorder. According to the retrieval strategies, randomized controlled trials on the acupuncture for COVID-19 TD were obtained from Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, the Chinese Scientific Journal Database and the Wanfang Database, regardless of publication date, or language. Studies were screened based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the Cochrane risk bias assessment tool was used to evaluate the quality of the studies. The meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager (RevMan 5.4) and StataSE 15.0 software. Ultimately, the evidentiary grade for the results will be evaluated. This systematic evaluation protocol is registered in PROSPERO under the registration ID CRD42022364653. The results of this meta-analysis will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication. This meta-analysis will evaluate the effect of acupuncture and moxibustion on TD caused by sequelae of COVID-19, providing evidence as to the treatment in these patients.

Safety and efficacy of acupuncture for anxiety and depression in patients with heart failure: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

In recent years, with the increase of patients with coronary heart disease, the number of patients with heart failure (HF) has also gradually increased. Coronary heart disease is one of the most common causes of HF. Anxiety and depression are frequent psychological disorders in patients with HF. Studies have shown that anxiety and depression can affect the quality of life of patients with HF, and can increase hospitalization and mortality. Conventional pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy have certain limitations. Acupuncture has therapeutic effects on heart disease, anxiety and depression, and has been widely used to relieve symptoms in patients with HF. This protocol aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of acupuncture for anxiety and depression in patients with HF. We will search the following databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Springer Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, WHO international clinical trials registry platform, China National Knowledge Infrastructure database, Wan Fang database, Chinese scientific journal database and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database. The databases will be searched from initiate to October 1, 2022. Two reviewers will screen and document eligible studies based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Two reviewers will independently perform data analysis and bias risk assessment. Review Manager version 5.4 software will be used for meta-analysis. This study will explore the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for anxiety and depression in patients with HF. The results of this study will provide high-quality evidence for evaluating the safety and efficacy of acupuncture for anxiety and depression in patients with HF.

Effectiveness and safety of auricular acupuncture for psoriasis: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

Psoriasis is a chronic, immune-mediated, polygenic skin disease that is common in clinical practice and often develops on the extremities, back, and scalp of patients. In that psoriasis lesions are stubborn and prone to recurrence, it has a serious impact on patients' quality of life and is detrimental to their physical and psychological health. Auricular acupuncture is one of the traditional Chinese medical treatments, which has the advantages of low adverse effects and simple operation and has been widely used in clinical practice with good efficacy. However, there has been no systematic evaluation of auricular acupuncture in the treatment of psoriasis. This protocol aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of auricular acupuncture in patients with psoriasis. We will search the following 8 databases including PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wan Fang, VIP, and CBM databases for randomized controlled trials of auricular acupuncture treated psoriasis from their inception to 10 October 2022. We will analyze the data meeting the inclusion criteria with the RevMan V.5.4 software. Two authors will assess the quality of the study with the Cochrane systematic evaluation tool. Treatment effectiveness and the psoriasis area and severity index are defined as the main outcomes, and the additional outcomes include itchy, dermatology life quality index, relapse rate, and adverse events. This study will review and evaluate the available evidence on the effectiveness and safety of auricular acupuncture for psoriasis. The results of this study will provide evidence for the effectiveness and safety of treating psoriasis, providing clinicians and patients with appropriate treatment options for this disease.

Safety of acupuncture by Korean Medicine Doctors: a prospective, practice-based survey of 37,490 consultations

BackgroundTo evaluate safety of acupuncture treatment by Korean Medicine Doctors (KMDs), a prospective, practice-based survey on adverse events (AEs) associated with acupuncture was conducted.MethodsFrom July 2016 to October 2017, KMDs were invited to participate in an online survey. Frequency was calculated as the number of AEs per 10,000 treatments; severity was assessed with the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events Grading (Severity) Scale; and causality was evaluated using the World Health Organisation-Uppsala Monitoring Centre system for standardised case causality assessment. Associations between AE occurrence and KMDs’ type of practice/clinical experience and patient age/gender/current medication(s) were analysed.ResultsData on 37,490 acupuncture treatments were collected from 222 KMDs. At least one AE was reported from 4,518 acupuncture treatments, giving a frequency rate of 1,205 per 10,000 acupuncture treatments; this increased to 4,768 treatments when administrative problems related to defective devices or medical negligence were added, for a rate of 1,272 per 10,000 acupuncture treatments. Commonly reported AEs were bleeding, needle site pain, and bruising. Approximately 72.9% of AEs/administrative problems were assessed as they certainly occurred by acupuncture treatment in causality assessment. Most AEs/administrative problems were considered mild in severity and two life-threatening AEs were resolved with no sequelae. Compared to males, female patients were more likely to experience AEs and KMDs’ clinical experience was not associated with reported AE occurrence.ConclusionsAlthough acupuncture-associated AEs occur commonly, they are largely transient and mild. Acupuncture performed by qualified KMDs may serve as a reliable medical treatment with acceptable safety profiles.

Efficacy and safety of acupuncture combined with Xuefu Zhuyu Decoction on major adverse cardiovascular events after percutaneous coronary intervention: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is an effective treatment for coronary heart disease (CHD). With the merits of small trauma and high success rate, PCI can promote the fast recovery of CHD patients and greatly improve their prognosis and quality of life. However, because PCI does not eliminate the pathogenic factors that lead to atherosclerosis, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) often occur after PCI. These events have become one of the principal factors affecting the long-term outcome of patients after PCI. In China, increasing attention is paid to the use of acupuncture combined with Xuefu Zhuyu Decoction (XFZYD) for the treatment of post-PCI MACEs in clinical practice. Nevertheless, this treatment approach still lacks evidence-based medical evaluation. In this study, a meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture combined with XFZYD in the treatment of MACEs after PCI. Randomized controlled trials on the efficacy and safety of acupuncture combined with XFZYD for the treatment of MACEs after PCI were retrieved from CNKI, WanFang, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar and Web of Science databases from the time of database establishment to October 2022. The papers were screened strictly according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the quality of the included studies was assessed using the Risk of Bias 2 (RoB 2) tool. Raw data were extracted from the studies and then a meta-analysis was made using RevMan 5.3 software. The results of this meta-analysis will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication. This study will summarize the latest evidence for the efficacy and safety of acupuncture combined with XFZYD in the treatment of MACEs after PCI.REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42022365657.

The efficacy and safety of acupuncture and related therapies for postpartum osteitis condensans llii

Background: Osteitis condensans illi often leads to low back pain in postpartum women. At present, physical therapy and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are often used for osteitis condensans illi. Acupuncture and its related therapies have significant clinical efficacy in the treatment of osteitis condensans illi has been reported in many studies. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of osteitis condensans illi, and to provide the latest evidence for clinical application. Methods: We will search PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database, Weipu Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals, SinoMed, and Wanfang Database, conference papers and grey literature. All relevant randomized controlled trial using acupuncture and related therapies for osteitis condensans illi will be included. Two reviewers will independently search and screen date. Systematic review and meta-analysis will be completed by RevMan5.3 software (Cochrane St Albans House 57-59 Haymarket, London, United Kingdom). Results: This study will provide comprehensive evidence of high quality of acupuncture and related therapies for osteitis condensans illi from visual analog scale, numerical rating scale, Japanese Orthopaedic Association low back pain scale, Quality of Life Scale, and adverse reactions. Conclusion: This systematic review and meta-analysis will provide a reliable for evaluating the efficacy and safety of acupuncture and related therapies in treatment postpartum osteitis condensans illi.

Acupuncture for metabolic syndrome: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

Metabolic syndrome (MS) is showing an epidemic trend worldwide, and its annual incidence is increasing. Conventional treatment options have limitations and it is necessary to develop new management strategies for MS. Eligible randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) were screened by searching multiple Chinese and English databases. References to the included literature, gray literature in OpenGrey, and other relevant literature, such as clinical studies registered in ClinicalTrials.gov, were also manually searched. Relevant data were extracted, and meta-analysis was performed using Reviewer Manager 5.4. This study provides a high-quality review of the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of MS, and provides a basis for the clinical application of acupuncture in the treatment of MS. This study provides evidence of the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of MS.

Acupuncture for dry eye disease after recovery from COVID-19: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

Dry eye disease (DED) is a condition occurring worldwide. Studies have found that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients may have persistent dry eye symptoms for weeks and months after recovery, and the prevalence of dry eye is higher in COVID-19 patients than in people without COVID-19 infection. As one of the common ophthalmic diseases, the clinical application of acupuncture in the treatment of DED is not widely used nowadays. According to the retrieval strategies, randomized controlled trials (RCT) on the acupuncture for DED after recovery from COVID-19 were obtained from Embase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure database, Chinese Biomedical Database, Chinese Science and Technology Periodical database, The WanFang database. Studies were screened based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the Cochrane risk bias assessment tool was used to evaluate the quality of the studies. The meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager (RevMan 5.3) and STATA 14.2 software. Ultimately, the evidentiary grade for the results will be evaluated. The study will provide a high-quality and convincing assessment of the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for DED after recovery from COVID-19 and will be published in peer-reviewed journals. Our findings will provide references for future clinical decision and guidance development.

Acupuncture and Related Therapies for Chronic Urticaria: A Critical Overview of Systematic Reviews.

Chronic urticaria (CU) can severely impair the quality of life. Acupuncture and related therapies have been widely used in the treatment of CU in China. This study aimed to summarize and critically evaluate the methodological and reporting quality of relevant systematic reviews (SRs) and present objective and comprehensive evidence on the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture and related therapies for CU. Eight electronic databases were searched from inception to October 2021 for SRs examining acupuncture and related therapies for CU, and gray literature was manually searched. Two authors independently identified SRs and extracted data. The methodological and reporting quality of these SRs were assessed by the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR 2) tool and preferred reporting items for SRs and meta-analyses (PRISMA, 2020), respectively. In addition, the risk of bias in systematic reviews (ROBIS) was used to evaluate the risk of bias. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework was applied to evaluate the quality of evidence for outcome measures. In total, 23 SRs, including a total of 11 outcome indicators, were published before October 2021. The AMSTAR-2 results showed that the methodological quality of all SRs was critically low; items 2, 3, 7, 9, 10, and 16 were found to have particularly low quality. For PRISMA, the reporting quality of the included SRs was unsatisfactory, and major reporting flaws were observed in the search strategy, synthesis method, certainly assessment, reporting biases, registrations, and financial support of the included SRs. For ROBIS, 22 SRs (95.65%) had a high risk of bias. Among the 55 outcomes assessed using the GRADE framework, there were 3 (5.45%) outcomes with moderate-quality evidence, 6 (10.91%) outcomes with low-quality evidence, and 46 (83.64%) outcomes with very low-quality evidence. We found the moderate quality of evidence indicating that the total effective rate and curing rate of the acupuncture group were higher than those of the western medicine group, and the recurrence rate was lower than that of the western medicine group. Acupuncture and related therapies for the treatment of CU are supported by low-quality evidence-based medicine. However, considering the poor quality of these SRs, we suggest that studies with more rigorous designs, larger sample sizes, and higher methodological and reporting quality are necessary to provide stronger evidence. Registration. The protocol for this study has been registered (PROSPERO registration number: CRD42021259131).

Acupuncture for Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome: A GRADE-assessed Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

ContextAcupuncture is a promising therapy for relieving symptoms in chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS), which affects 9–16% of adult men worldwide. ObjectiveThis study aims to explore the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for CP/CPPS. Evidence acquisitionNine electronic databases were searched. Only randomized controlled trials were included. Two reviewers extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of trials using the revised Cochrane risk-of-bias (RoB 2.0) tool. Stata 17.0 was used to analyze the data. Evidence synthesisTwelve trials were included. The results of a meta-analysis showed that acupuncture had larger effect sizes (standardized mean difference [SMD] = –1.20, confidence interval or CI [–1.69, –0.71], acupuncture compared with sham acupuncture; SMD = –1.01, CI [–1.63, –0.38], acupuncture compared with medication; SMD = –0.91, CI [–1.29, –0.54], acupuncture plus medication compared with medication) in reducing the National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI) total score. In decreasing NIH-CPSI pain domain score, acupuncture also led to larger effect sizes (SMD = –0.94, CI [–1.18, –0.70], acupuncture compared with sham acupuncture; SMD = –1.04, CI [–1.29, –0.79], acupuncture compared with medication; SMD = –0.85, CI [–1.23, –0.48], acupuncture plus medication compared with medication), whereas the effect sizes in the reduction of NIH-CPSI urinary domain and quality of life domain scores were medium. Compared with sham acupuncture and medication, acupuncture appears to be more effective in improving the global response rate. Results from four trials indicated that acupuncture was better than sham acupuncture in decreasing the International Prostate Symptom Score. No serious adverse effects were found in the acupuncture treatment. ConclusionsCurrent evidence supports acupuncture as an effective treatment for CP/CPPS-induced symptoms, particularly in relieving pain. Comprehensive acupuncture treatment according to individual symptoms should be considered in future clinical practice and trials for CP/CPPS. Patient summaryIn this study, we further verified the efficacy of acupuncture in patients with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome, especially in reducing pain.

Efficacy and safety of acupuncture for chemotherapy-induced leukopenia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background:Leukopenia is one of most common types of myelosuppression secondary to chemotherapy. The main methods used to treat leukopenia after chemotherapy have various limitations. Several studies have reported the role of acupuncture in the prevention and treatment of leukopenia, but the quality of the study is uneven. Here, we used a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of leukopenia after chemotherapy.Methods:We searched the databases of the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), the Cochrane Library, Medline (via PubMed), EMBASE (via embase.com), the China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI), the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), the Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP database) and the Wanfang database to collect randomized clinical trials (RCTs) on acupuncture in the treatment of leukopenia after chemotherapy. Cochrane systematic reviewer manual 5.2 was used for bias risk assessment. RevMan5.3 statistical software was applied for statistical analysis.Results:Fifteen RCTs were included in this study, with a total of 1130 patients. Meta-analysis results showed that acupuncture can increase white blood cell (WBC) count after chemotherapy [MD = 1.18, 95% CI (0.80, 1.57), P < .00001], reduce the incidence of myelosuppression [RR = 0.38, 95% CI (0.23, 0.63), P = .0002], and improve the clinical treatment effectiveness [RR = 1.20, 95% CI (1.00, 1.43), P = .05]. The differences were statistically significant.Conclusion:It is recommended to use acupuncture in the treatment of leukocytopenia after chemotherapy, but this result needs further research for verification.

Acupuncture for the treatment of childhood anorexia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

ObjectivesChildhood anorexia, among the commonest symptoms of children, involved long-term loss of appetite/decreased food intake and refusal to try or eat certain foods. Acupuncture is increasingly popular in childhood anorexia due to the side effects and dissatisfaction of conventional treatment, but, the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for childhood anorexia have not been reviewed systematically. MethodsFrom 12 electronic databases, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing acupuncture for childhood anorexia were identified in June 2021, with posttreatment improvement in clinical symptoms of anorexia as the primary outcome. A meta-analysis was conducted if two or more studies used the same interventions or same outcome measures. The risk of bias and quality of evidence were evaluated. ResultsA total of 32 RCTs with 3518 participants were included. When acupuncture was used as monotherapy or adjunctive therapy, the total effectiveness rate based on anorexia symptoms, hemoglobin levels, abdominal subcutaneous fat, and body weight significantly improved. However, results in nutritional indices were inconsistent. The recurrence rate of anorexia was significantly lower in the acupuncture group. No serious adverse events in relation to acupuncture were reported. in general, the risk of bias of the included studies was unclear and the quality of evidence for the main findings was low to moderate. ConclusionsAcupuncture may improve symptoms of childhood anorexia without serious adverse events. However, because of the low methodological quality and quality of evidence in existing reports, further high-quality clinical trials are needed to conclusively establish the efficacy and safety of this treatment.

Effectiveness and safety of acupuncture and moxibustion for chronic prostatitis: A protocol for an overview of systematic reviews and meta-analysis.

Background:Chronic prostatitis (CP) refers to a disease characterized by local pain and discomfort, urination discomfort, and quality of life. Acupuncture (ACU) and moxibustion are widely used in the treatment of CP, and the curative effect is satisfactory. Several systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analyzes have reported the effectiveness of ACU and moxibustion in treating patients with CP. However, the evidence is not systematically integrated. This overview aims to integrate and evaluate the reliability of these SRs and the evidence generated from the ACU and moxibustion for CP meta-analysis.Methods:We will make a comprehensive retrieval in seven databases as following: Embase, Cochrane Library, Pubmed, Chinese databases SinoMed (previously called the Chinese Biomedical Database), Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Scientific Journals Database (VIP), and Wanfang Data (WF). The time is limited from the construction of the library to May 2021. We will use the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews-2 (AMSTAR-2) tool to evaluate methodological quality. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) will be used in the report checklist to assess the quality of reports in the study. The GRADE will be used to evaluate the included SRs and meta-analysis. Our reviewers will conduct SRs, qualification evaluation, data extraction, methodological quality and evidence quality screening in pairs. The outcomes of interest include: NIH-Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI), effective rate, other CP symptom scales, EPS-WBC, and adverse events. Evidence will be combined based on patient subgroups and results where appropriate.Results:The results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.Trial registration number:INPLASY202150018.Conclusion:This overview will provide comprehensive evidence of ACU and moxibustion for patients with CP.

Acupuncture for dyspnea and breathing physiology in chronic respiratory diseases: A protocol of a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background:Dyspnea is one of the most common symptoms of chronic respiratory disease (CRD) and is closely related to increased functional disability and mortality, resulting in substantial adverse outcomes on patients and imposing great social and economic burden. Although multiple clinical trials and systematic reviews have suggested that acupuncture could be effective in treating COPD and lung cancer, little is known about its effects on dyspnea relief in patients with CRD. The present study aimed to use a systematic review approach to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of dyspnea in patients with CRD.Methods:We will search the following 9 databases from inception to June 30, 2022, PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, WANFANG Database, Chinses Scientific and Technological Periodical Database, and Chinese Biomedical Database, and the Cochrane Library Database. Clinical randomized controlled trials in English or Chinese that evaluate invasive acupuncture versus control group in treatment of CRD with dyspnea will be included. The primary outcome will be dyspnea scores, breathing physiological function, and the secondary outcomes include exercise tolerance by six-minute walk distance quality of life, quality of life and adverse events. Two reviewers will independently conduct study selection, data extraction and quality assessment. The Review Manager software will be used for meta-analysis. This protocol will be carried out in accordance with the PRISMA-P guidance.Conclusion:This systematic review and meta-analysis will provide the evidence of whether acupuncture is an effective and safe intervention for CRD with dyspnea. The results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication.

Acupuncture for gastrointestinal urticaria: A protocol for systematic review and network meta-analysis.

IntroductionThe purpose of this review is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of patients with gastrointestinal urticaria (GU) and to provide a clinician's guide to GU treatment options.Methods and analysisWe plan to search multiple databases (i.e., PubMed, EMBASE, Springer, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database and Wanfang Database) for studies published before September 1, 2022. We will electronically search for all relevant studies concerning clinical acupuncture treatments of GU, including unpublished conference articles and other gray literature. The language limit of this systematic review is Chinese and English. Any reports of clinical randomized controlled trials of acupuncture for the treatment of GU will be included in the study. Two researchers will perform independent data extraction to increase the quality of the data extraction. The primary outcome was the Urticaria Activity Score 7 (UAS7). Abdominal visual analog scale (VAS) for abdominal pain, dermatological life quality index (DLQI), the total effective rate, recurrence rate, and occurrence of adverse events were secondary outcomes. We will use RevMan V.5.3 statistical software for pairwise meta-analysis and ADDIS V.1.16.8 software for Bayesian network meta-analysis. If feasible, meta-regression and subgroup analyses will also be performed to address the potential causes of inconsistency and heterogeneity. We will conduct a GRADE assessment of the quality of evidence for the interventions included in this review.DiscussionThis study may validate acupuncture as an alternative therapy for the effective treatment of GU.Trial registration numberPROSPERO CRD42022333977.

Efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of foot drop in post-stroke: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background:Foot drop is a common complication in post-stroke. Patients with foot drop are at high risk for falls and fall-related injuries. Accordingly, it can reduce independence and quality of life in patients. Clinical studies have confirmed that acupuncture is effective in treating foot drop in post-stroke. However, there is a lack of systematic review exploring the efficacy and safety of acupuncture treatment. This study aims to assess the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of foot drop in poststroke from the results of randomized controlled trials.Methods:We will search articles in 8 electronic databases including the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Wanfang Data Database, and the Chinese Scientific Journal Database for RCTs of acupuncture treated foot drop in post-stroke from their inception to 10 August 2022. We will analyze the data meeting the inclusion criteria with the RevMan V.5.4 software. Two authors will assess the quality of the study with the Cochrane collaborative risk bias tool. We will evaluate the certainty of the estimated evidence with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) method. Data analysis will be performed using STATA 16.0.Results:This study will review and evaluate the available evidence for the treatment of foot drop in post-stroke using acupuncture.Conclusion subsections:This study will determine the efficacy and safety of acupuncture applied to post-stroke individuals with foot drop.

Acupuncture for irritable bowel syndrome: Study protocol of a prospective, multicentre, registry study in real-world settings

Acupuncture is a complex intervention influenced by many factors, and its effectiveness in treating irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in the real world is unknown. Therefore, we will conduct a registry study to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture alone or as adjunctive therapy for IBS in real-world settings. This is a prospective multicentre registry study. At least 788 patients will be recruited from 6 medical centres. Patients who are diagnosed with IBS, aged over 18 years, and voluntarily sign the informed consent form will be recruited. The interventions will include acupuncture or without acupuncture therapy for IBS. The primary outcome will be the IBS symptom severity score, and the secondary outcomes will include adequate relief of global IBS symptoms, the Bristol Stool Form Scale, the weekly frequency of defecation, the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, and the Self-Rating Depression Scale. All information will be collected through the Epi Info™7 data platform. Propensity score matching will be used to control for potential confounding factors. The generalized additive mixed model will be used to analyse the curative effect. We posit that the treatment should not be less than 3 times, and 1 follow-up is an effective case. This study protocol describes the first large-scale, multicentre patient registry of acupuncture for IBS. The findings of the study will confirm the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture alone or as adjunctive therapy in treating IBS and provide the characteristics of acupuncture implementation, the conditions related to more acupuncture benefit, and identify the key factors affecting the clinical effectiveness of acupuncture treatment for IBS in the real world. Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2100045329. Registered date on 12 April 2021.

A randomised, pragmatic clinical trial of ACUpuncture plus standard care versus standard care alone FOr Chemotherapy Induced peripheral Neuropathy (ACUFOCIN).

PurposeChemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a dose limiting toxicity posing a major clinical challenge for managing patients receiving specific chemotherapy regimens (e.g., Taxanes). There is a growing body of literature suggesting acupuncture can improve CIPN symptoms. The purpose of the ACUFOCIN trial was to collect preliminary data on the safety, feasibility, acceptability and initial effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for CIPN, comparing use of acupuncture plus standard care (Acupuncture) against standard care alone (Control).MethodAt a tertiary cancer centre, a pragmatic, randomised, parallel group design study was used to investigate the effectiveness of a 10-week course of acupuncture. Participants experiencing CIPN of ≥ Grade II, recording a ‘Most Troublesome’ CIPN symptom score of ≥3 using the "Measure Yourself Medical Outcome Profile" (MYMOP 2), were randomised to ‘Acupuncture’ or ‘Control’ arms. Clinicians were blinded to allocated groups, however as it was not possible to blind participants, it cannot be guaranteed they did not disclose study allocation within their clinic assessments. The primary outcome measure was the number of patients reporting a ≥ 2-point improvement (success) in their MYMOP2 score at week 10. 100 participants (120 to allow for attrition) were required for a hypothesised improvement in success proportions from 30% to 55% using a primary analysis model with logistic regression adjusted for stratification factors and baseline MYMOP2 scores. Feasibility and acceptability of study design was addressed through percentage return of primary outcome, retention rate and a nested qualitative study.ResultsPrimary MYMOP2 outcome data at week 10 was available for 108/120 randomised participants; this is greater than the 100 participants required to adequately power the study. There were 36/53 (68%) successes in ‘Acupuncture’ compared to 18/55 (33%) in ‘Control’. Beneficial effects were seen in the secondary outcome data, including clinicians' grading of neuropathy, EORTC, QLQ-CIPN20, QLQ-C30 summary scores and patient reported pain scores. There were no serious adverse events reported within the study and only 16 acupuncture associated events, none of which required intervention.ConclusionA 10-week course of acupuncture resulted in measurable improvement in participants symptoms of CIPN. The results warrant further investigation.

Efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of the sequela of olfactory disorders after infection with COVID-19: A protocol for systematic review and meta analysis.

Background:From the end of 2019 to now, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has put enormous strain on the world’s health systems. As a characteristic sign of COVID-19 patient, olfactory dysfunction (OD) poses considerable problems for patients. In China, acupuncture has been widely used to treat OD caused by COVID-19, but there is still a lack of evidence-based medical evaluation. This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for the treatment of COVID-19 OD.Methods:According to the retrieval strategies, randomized controlled trials on the acupuncture for COVID-19 OD were obtained from Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, the Chinese Scientific Journal Database and the Wanfang Database, regardless of publication date, or language. Studies were screened based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the Cochrane risk bias assessment tool was used to evaluate the quality of the studies. The meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager (RevMan 5.3) and STATA 14.2 software. Ultimately, the evidentiary grade for the results will be evaluated.Results:The results of this meta-analysis will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication.Conclusion:This study will provide up-to-date summary proof for evaluating the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for COVID-19 OD.