Effectiveness and safety of acupoint embedding therapy for treating intractable facial paralysis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

IF 3.3 3区医学 Q1 INTEGRATIVE & COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE

Complementary therapies in medicine Pub Date : 2025-03-11 DOI:10.1016/j.ctim.2025.103162

Xiaotong Guo , Fenglei Zai , Xianliang Tang , Yongkang Deng , Jianghui Cheng

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective

Limited systematic reviews have explored the impact of acupoint embedding (AE) therapy on intractable facial paralysis (IFP). This review presents the current evidence on the efficacy and safety of AE therapy in the treatment of IFP.

Methods

PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang databases were systematically searched from inception to February 2024 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) without language restrictions. Data extraction and analysis were independently conducted by two reviewers. The Risk of Bias was assessed using the Risk of Bias tool (version 2.0), and a meta-analysis was performed using the RevMan software (V5.4).

Setting

Eighteen RCTs involving 1881 patients were included in the analysis.

Results

AE therapy demonstrated a higher total effective rate (relative risk [RR]: 1.28; 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.13–1.44; P < 0.0001), cure rate (RR: 1.81; 95 % CI: 1.05–3.12; P = 0.03), and facial nerve function score (standardized mean differences [SMD]: 1.57; 95 % CI: 1.16–1.99; P < 0.00001) compared to that of manual acupuncture. Additionally, AE therapy showed a higher total effective rate (RR: 1.16; 95 % CI: 1.10–1.22; P < 0.00001) and cure rate (RR: 1.70; 95 % CI: 1.46–1.98; P < 0.00001) in comparison to that of electroacupuncture. However, there were no significant differences in facial nerve function scores(SMD:2.04; 95 % CI: −1.25–5.32; P = 0.22) or adverse reactions(RR: 1.16; 95 % CI: 0.35–3.78; P = 0.81) between AE therapy and electroacupuncture therapy. Evidence supporting the efficacy and safety of AE treatment is also insufficient.

Conclusion

Most of the included studies indicated that AE therapy was more effective than MA/EA therapy for IFP. However, the quality of evidence for the majority of these studies was low, and all were conducted in China, where limited information has been reported regarding the safety of AE therapy.

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来源期刊

Complementary therapies in medicine 医学-全科医学与补充医学

CiteScore

8.60

自引率

2.80%

发文量

101

审稿时长

112 days

期刊介绍： Complementary Therapies in Medicine is an international, peer-reviewed journal that has considerable appeal to anyone who seeks objective and critical information on complementary therapies or who wishes to deepen their understanding of these approaches. It will be of particular interest to healthcare practitioners including family practitioners, complementary therapists, nurses, and physiotherapists; to academics including social scientists and CAM researchers; to healthcare managers; and to patients. Complementary Therapies in Medicine aims to publish valid, relevant and rigorous research and serious discussion articles with the main purpose of improving healthcare.