Efficacy and safety of moxibustion for knee osteoarthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

IF 3.4 3区医学 Q2 INTEGRATIVE & COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE

Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice Pub Date : 2025-05-01 Epub Date: 2025-03-28 DOI:10.1016/j.ctcp.2025.101979

Shun Chen , Weiting Liu , Changhao Liang , Hanjiang Liu , Pei Wang , Qinwei Fu

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background and purpose

Although several reviews have examined moxibustion for knee osteoarthritis (KOA), they have some methodological limitations. This systematic review aims to synthesize current evidence on various moxibustion interventions for KOA pain relief.

Methods

We conducted a comprehensive search across seven databases up to June 2024. The Cochrane risk of bias tool (ROB2) was used to assess the risk of bias, and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) criterion approach was employed to evaluate the certainty of evidence for primary outcomes. Primary outcomes included Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), stiffness, physical function, and total effective rate. Secondary outcomes encompassed adverse events (AEs) and treatment regimen of moxibustion for KOA. Meta-analysis was performed using STATA 17.0 and RevMan 5.4.1.

Results

A total of 43 studies with 4008 participants were included in this review. Moxibustion significantly reduced WOMAC (−0.91, 95 % CI: −1.12, −0.70) and VAS scores (−0.95, 95 % CI: −1.18, −0.73). Electronic moxibustion was the most effective intervention. Treatment frequencies exceeding three times per week were more effective than fewer sessions. The total effective rate was 93.11 % for the moxibustion group versus 76.41 % for the controls. AEs were reported in sixteen studies, with one serious AE.

Conclusion

Moxibustion is more effective for pain relief than other treatments and has a lower incidence of AEs. Further high-level evidence is warranted to validate these findings.

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艾灸治疗膝骨关节炎的疗效和安全性：一项系统综述和荟萃分析

背景和目的虽然有几篇综述研究了艾灸治疗膝骨关节炎（KOA），但它们在方法学上存在一些局限性。这篇系统综述的目的是综合目前关于艾灸干预缓解KOA疼痛的证据。方法对截至2024年6月的7个数据库进行全面检索。采用Cochrane偏倚风险工具（ROB2）评估偏倚风险，采用推荐、评估、发展和评价分级（GRADE）标准方法评估主要结局证据的确定性。主要结果包括视觉模拟量表（VAS）、西安大略大学和麦克马斯特大学骨关节炎指数（WOMAC）、僵硬度、身体功能和总有效率。次要结局包括不良事件（ae）和艾灸治疗KOA的治疗方案。meta分析采用STATA 17.0和RevMan 5.4.1进行。结果本综述共纳入43项研究，涉及4008名受试者。艾灸显著降低WOMAC （- 0.91, 95% CI: - 1.12, - 0.70）和VAS评分（- 0.95,95% CI: - 1.18, - 0.73）。电子灸是最有效的干预手段。每周超过三次的治疗频率比更少的疗程更有效。艾灸组总有效率为93.11%，对照组为76.41%。16项研究报告了AE，其中1例为严重AE。结论艾灸镇痛效果明显优于其他治疗方法，且不良反应发生率较低。需要进一步的高水平证据来证实这些发现。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice INTEGRATIVE & COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE-

CiteScore

6.30

自引率

6.70%

发文量

157

审稿时长

40 days

期刊介绍： Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice is an internationally refereed journal published to meet the broad ranging needs of the healthcare profession in the effective and professional integration of complementary therapies within clinical practice. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice aims to provide rigorous peer reviewed papers addressing research, implementation of complementary therapies (CTs) in the clinical setting, legal and ethical concerns, evaluative accounts of therapy in practice, philosophical analysis of emergent social trends in CTs, excellence in clinical judgement, best practice, problem management, therapy information, policy development and management of change in order to promote safe and efficacious clinical practice. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice welcomes and considers accounts of reflective practice.