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Therapeutic effect of acupuncture combined montelukast sodium on cough variant asthma in children: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.
Zhou, X, Zhang, Y, Liu, L, Feng, X, Zhang, H
Medicine. 2021;(51):e28048
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Cough variant asthma in children is a special type of asthma. Although there are many effective cases of combined acupuncture and western medicine in the clinical treatment of this kind of children, there is no standardized acupuncture combined with western medicine to evaluate the curative effect. Therefore, combined with existing reports, a systematic review and meta-analysis of acupuncture combined with montelukast sodium in the treatment of cough variant asthma in children were carried out to obtain conclusive results. METHODS The following electronic databases will be searched: PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, Medline, CNKI, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, VIP, and Wan Fang databases. We will consider articles published between database initiation and October 2021. We will use Review Manager 5.4, provided by the Cochrane Collaborative Network for statistical analysis. Clinical randomized controlled trials related to acupuncture combined with montelukast sodium on cough variant asthma in children were included in this study. Language is limited to both Chinese and English. Research selection, data extraction, and research quality assessments were independently completed by two researchers. We then assessed the quality and risk of the included studies and observed the outcome measures. RESULTS This study provides a high-quality synthesis to assess the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture combined with montelukast sodium on cough variant asthma in children. CONCLUSION This systematic review will provide evidence to determine whether acupuncture combined with montelukast sodium is an effective and safe intervention for patients with cough variant asthma in children. INPLASY REGISTRATION NUMBER INPLASY2021110006.
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Acupoint catgut embedding for the treatment of peptic ulcers: A protocol for systematic review and meta analysis.
Yi, X, Wang, L, He, Q, A, R, Le, Y
Medicine. 2021;(16):e25562
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BACKGROUND Peptic ulcer (PU) is a common clinical disease of the digestive system, which can occur in all ages, gastric and duodenal ulcers are the most commonly seen PUs in clinical practice. The main manifestations are chronic and periodic rhythmic upper abdominal pain, accompanied by indigestion symptoms such as pantothenic acid, belching, and nausea. Serious complications such as bleeding, perforation, obstruction and canceration are easy to occur, endangering the life safety of patients. There are many ways to treat PU in clinic, and acupoint catgut embedding therapy has its unique advantages. Hence, our systematic review aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupoint embedding therapy in the treatment of PU and to provide a reliable basis for physician. METHODS We will search electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Database (WF), China Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), and China Scientific Journals Database (VIP) from establishment to April 2021, and will manually searched the list of medical journals as a supplement. Two authors will screen the studies independently, as well as extract data information, and assess methodological quality through the Cochrane risk of bias (ROB) tool. The Stata software (Version 16.0) software will be used for statistical analysis. RESULTS By evaluating the current status of acupoint catgut embedding for Peptic ulcer disease, this study would prove the effectiveness and safety of acupoint embedding therapy, and will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. CONCLUSION This systematic review will provide a credible evidence-based for acupoint catgut embedding in the treatment of peptic ulcer. INPLASY REGISTRATION NUMBER INPLASY202130097.
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Effect of acupuncture on essential hypertension: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.
Yu, J, Wei, Y, Jing, Y, Gao, Y
Medicine. 2021;(15):e25572
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BACKGROUND Essential hypertension is a risk factor for early cardiovascular disease and is a major preventable risk factor for premature death and disability worldwide. However, some antihypertensive drugs cannot be used for treatment because of their cost-effectiveness or side effects. Non-drug treatments for hypertension include weight loss, salt restriction, smoking cessation, alcohol withdrawal, and exercise, although these methods are difficult to maintain and to achieve. This study will investigate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of different grades of essential hypertension. METHODS AND ANALYSIS A systematic search of the Cochrane, PubMed, EMBASE, CNKI, WanFang, VIP, and CBM databases will be performed, which will include randomized controlled trials on acupuncture for essential hypertension. The main results will include systolic and diastolic blood pressure before and after treatment, whereas the secondary outcomes will be efficacy rate and adverse events. The possible adverse reactions include dizziness, headache, edema, cough, nausea, electrolyte disorders, and hypotension. RevMan Manager 5.3 (Cochrane Collaboration) and STATA 16.0 software will be used to calculate mean deviation, standard deviation, confidence interval, and P values. For continuous variables, we will use the standardized mean difference of 95% confidence intervals as the summary statistics of the meta-analysis. RESULTS This study will assess the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for essential hypertension. CONCLUSIONS Our study will determine the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in treating primary hypertension, and provide the basis for clinical decision-making. INPLASY REGISTRATION NUMBER INPLASY202130042.
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Efficacy and safety of acupuncture for elderly patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.
Xia, Q, Gao, H, Xian, J, Yan, X, Zhou, Y, Lu, Y, Ma, Y
Medicine. 2021;(5):e24515
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BACKGROUND The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture therapy for elderly patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODS Relevant articles from December 2019 to December 2020 will be searched in the following electronic databases: Medline, PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), and China Scientific Journals Database. All published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and credible clinical observations about this topic will be included. Two independent researchers will operate article retrieval, duplication removing, screening and data analysis by EndNote X9.0 and Stata 15.0. We will use the Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomized trials to assess the risk of bias of included studies. Meta-analysis, subgroup analysis, and/or descriptive analysis will be performed according to the data conditions included. RESULTS High-quality synthesis and/or descriptive analysis of current evidence will be provided from mortality rate, cure rate, C-reactive protein (CRP), creatine, troponin, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and improvements in chest CT scans, clinical symptoms (including fever, fatigue, cough, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea) and the side effects of acupuncture. CONCLUSION This study will provide evidence of whether acupuncture is an effective and safe intervention for the elderly with COVID-19. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER CRD42020225245.
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Observation for clinical effect of acupuncture combined with conventional therapy in the treatment of acne vulgaris.
Kou, L, Yu, N, Ren, J, Yang, B, Tao, Y
Medicine. 2020;(18):e19764
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INTRODUCTION Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory disease of the sebaceous glands that occurs in adolescent men and women. In recent years, the incidence of acne has increased year by year, so it is of great significance to find a precise and effective treatment and further explore its possible mechanism of action. The purpose of this study will be to explore a treatment method that has both traditional Chinese medicine characteristics and significant effects, and provides a higher level of evidence for acupuncture for acne vulgaris. It also provides patients with more treatment options. METHODS/DESIGN The study will be a randomized controlled trial divided into 2 parallel groups. This pragmatic randomized controlled trial will recruit 66 patients who are diagnosed with acne vulgaris. 30-minutes acupuncture sessions will be provided to patients assigned to the intervention group. All participants will continue to receive conventional treatment. The selection of outcomes will be evaluated by the skin lesions score scale. DISCUSSION This trial may provide evidence regarding the clinical effectiveness, safety, and cost-effectiveness of acupuncture for patients with acne vulgaris. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER CTR2000030427.
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Acupoint catgut embedding for obesity: A protocol of systematic review.
Huang, W, Chen, X, Zhang, Y, Wang, L, Wang, J, Zhang, Y, Wei, D, Zhou, Z
Medicine. 2020;(51):e23728
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BACKGROUND Obesity is a chronic metabolic disease in which patients are overweight due to the excessive accumulation of fat in the body. As a subtype of acupuncture, catgut embedding at acupoints has increased in clinical application for obesity. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupoint catgut embedding therapy for simple obesity. METHODS AND ANALYSIS Electronic searches of the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Springer Medline, EMBASE, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wan-Fang Data (WANFANG), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), and Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP databases) will be performed. The Chinese Clinical Trial Registry Center and the ClinicalTrials.gov registry will also be searched for ongoing trials. Databases will be searched from inception to August 2020.Randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) will be included if acupoint catgut embedding was evaluated as the sole treatment (diet or exercise therapy as the control group will be allowed) for simple obesity. The primary outcomes will consist of the improvement rate and reduction in body weight (BW). The secondary outcomes will include body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), fat percentage (F %) and adverse effects. Two reviewers will undertake the study selection, data extraction and assessments of study quality. After screening the studies, the quality of the included studies will be assessed according to the quality criteria specified by the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions (version 5.1.0). Meta-analysis will be performed by RevMan 5.3 software. RESULTS According to the data of improvement rate and reduction in BW, BMI, WC, and F %, this study will provide an evidence-based review of acupoint catgut embedding therapy for simply. CONCLUSIONS This systematic review will present the current evidence for acupoint catgut embedding therapy for obesity. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION Ethical approval is not necessary since this protocol is only for systematic review and does not involve privacy data. The findings of this study will be disseminated electronically through a peer-review publication or presented at a relevant conference. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER INPLASY2020110045.
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Acupuncture for treating diabetic retinopathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Ang, L, Song, E, Jun, JH, Choi, TY, Lee, MS
Complementary therapies in medicine. 2020;:102490
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This review aimed to examine the effectiveness of acupuncture for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy (DR). METHODS Fourteen databases (5 English, 4 Chinese, and 5 Korean) were searched from their inception until May 20, 2020. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using acupuncture for DR treatment were included. The study selection and data extraction were performed by two independent reviewers. The Cochrane risk of bias tool version 2 (RoB 2.0) and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) were used to assess all the included RCTs. RESULTS Of 864 citations, 6 RCTs met the inclusion criteria of our review. Four studies reported the beneficial effects of acupuncture with standard medication or acupuncture alone compared with standard medication or no treatment on the effective rate. Only three studies showed that acupuncture combined with standard medications significantly improved visual acuity compared to standard medication alone. None of the studies reported on adverse events. The risk of bias of the included studies was judged to be of "some concern" and was marked with a moderate and low certainty of evidence in different outcomes. CONCLUSION Our results suggest the potential benefit of acupuncture in treating DR. Acupuncture in the form of combined therapy with standard medication or acupuncture alone may be more effective in the treatment of DR than standard medication alone. Further rigorous clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings.
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Acupuncture and related techniques for obesity and cardiovascular risk factors: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis.
Chen, J, Chen, D, Ren, Q, Zhu, W, Xu, S, Lu, L, Chen, X, Yan, D, Nie, H, Zhou, X
Acupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society. 2020;(4):227-234
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To assess how acupuncture and related techniques affect weight-related indicators and cardiovascular risk factors compared with non-acupuncture interventions in overweight and obese patients. METHODS We searched PubMed, Embase and CENTRAL up to 19 April 2018 and included relevant randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Weighted mean differences (WMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were pooled using the inverse variance method with random-effects model. Prespecified hypotheses were tested in meta-regression to investigate the source of heterogeneity. Statistical software packages used were RevMan 5.3.5 and Stata 14.0. RESULTS Thirty-three RCTs were included (n=2503 patients). Compared with non-acupuncture interventions, acupuncture produced a greater reduction in body weight (WMD -1.76 kg, 95% CI -2.22 to -1.30, I2=77%; moderate quality), body mass index (WMD -1.13 kg/m2, 95% CI -1.38 to -0.88, I2=85%; low quality) and waist circumference (WMD -2.42 cm, 95% CI -3.22 to -1.62, I2=75%; moderate quality). Acupuncture plus lifestyle intervention resulted in a greater reduction in body weight than acupuncture alone (MD -1.94 kg, 95% CI -3.17 to -0.70). Acupuncture also led to a greater reduction in total cholesterol (WMD -12.87 mg/dL, 95% CI -22.17 to -3.57, I2=87%; very low quality) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (WMD -13.52 mg/dL, 95% CI -21.47 to -5.58, I2=74%; low quality). The differences were not statistically significant for blood glucose or blood pressure. CONCLUSION In the short term, acupuncture and related techniques may produce a small but statistically significant degree of weight loss based on moderate- to low-quality evidence, and improve serum lipid parameters based on low- to very-low-quality evidence. Their effects on blood glucose and blood pressure remain uncertain.
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Acupuncture Combined with Early Enteral Nutrition on Patients with Postoperative Laparoscopic Common Bile Duct Exploration: A Prospective Randomized Trial.
Yuan, HC, Xiang, Q, Zhang, N, Qin, WJ, Cai, W
Chinese journal of integrative medicine. 2020;(10):769-775
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To assess the efficiency of acupuncture combined with early enteral nutrition (EEN) in patients with postoperative laparoscopic common bile duct exploration. METHODS A total of 200 patients with postoperative laparoscopic bile duct exploration was randomized using sealed envelopes and assigned to the convenitional, EEN, acupuncture plus convenitional and acupuncture plus EEN groups, 50 cases in each group. Twelve hours after operation, the patients in EEN groups began to receive oral enteral nutrition, and the acupuncture approach was performed by acupuncturist in acupuncture plus conventional and acupuncture plus EEN groups. Acupuncture was given at Zusanli (ST 36), Shangjuxu (ST 37) and Xiajuxu (ST 39) with a depth of 15-20 mm, using the lifting-thrusting and twisting method to obtain Deqi sensation. The needles were maintained for 30 min. Treatment was given once daily, 3 times per section. After the intervention, the patients' characteristics, operation time, bleeding volume, postoperative time to first anal exhaust, postoperative complications including abdominal distension, diarrhea, gastric dilatation, intestinal obstruction, pharyngodynia, incision, abdominal and pulmonary infection and postoperative hospitalization days were assessed and compared in patients among 4 groups. RESULTS Postoperative time to first anal exhaust in the convenitional group was longer compared with the other 3 groups (P<0.05), and was shorter in the acupuncture plus EEN group than those of the convenitional, acupuncture plus convenitional and EEN groups (P<0.01). The acupuncture plus EEN group showed significant decrease in the incidence of complications and less postoperative hospitalization days compared with the other groups (P<0.05 or P<0.01). There was no readmission. CONCLUSION After laparoscopic bile duct exploration, acupuncture combined with EEN treatment significantly improves the patients' gastrointestinal function, reduces complications, and shortens postoperative hospitalization days.
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Effects of TAT-SOD at Acupoints on Essential Hypertension by Monitoring Meridians Electrical Potential.
Guo, JK, Xu, JS, Chen, TB, Xu, MM, Liu, ST, Zhang, CX, Ke, LJ, Zhou, JW, Wang, Q, Rao, PF
Chinese journal of integrative medicine. 2020;(9):694-700
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To investigate the effect on essential hypertension of the topical application of TAT-Cu, Zn-superoxide dismutase (TAT-SOD) at left acupoint Zusanli (ST 36), and to observe whether the change of electrical potential difference (EPD) can be related to the change of blood pressure. METHODS Sixteen patients with essential hypertension and 16 healthy subjects were included in the study. EPD between the left acupoints of Yanglingquan (GB 34) and Qiuxu (GB 40) was firstly screened out for the EPD detection. An intracellular superoxide quenching enzyme, TAT-SOD, was topically applied to the acupoint ST 36 within an area of 1 cm2 once a day, and the influence on EPD was investigated. The dosage applied to TAT-SOD group (n=8) was 0.2 mL of 3000 U/mL TAT-SOD cream prepared by adding purified TAT-SOD to a vehicle cream, while placebo group (n=8) used the vehicle cream instead. The left acupoints of Yanglingquan (GB 34) and Qiuxu (GB 40) were selected for EPD measurement after comparing EPD readings between 5 acupoints on each of all 12 meridians. RESULTS EPDs between the left acupoints of GB 34 and GB 40 for 16 patients of essential hypertension and 16 healthy subjects were 44.9±6.4 and 5.6±0.9 mV, respectively. Daily application of TAT-SOD for 15 days at ST 36 of essential hypertension patients significantly decreased systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of 179.6 and 81.5 mm Hg to 153.1 and 74.1 mm Hg, respectively. Responding to the change in blood pressure, EPD between the left acupoints of GB 34 and GB 40 also declined from 44.4 to 22.8 mV with the same trend. No change was observed with SBP, DBP and EPD between the left acupoints of GB 34 and GB 40 with the daily application of the placebo cream. CONCLUSION Enzymatic scavenging of the intracellular superoxide at ST 36 proved to be effective in decreasing SBP and DBP. The results reconfirm the involvement of superoxide anions and its transportation along the meridians, and demonstrate that EPD between acupoints may be an indicator to reflect its functioning status. Moreover, preliminary results suggest a close correlation between EPD and blood pressure readings, implying a possibility of using EPD as a sensitive parameter for blood pressure and to monitor the effect of antihypertensive treatment.