Comparing different acupuncture methods for the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome: A systematic review and network meta-analysis

IF 1.7 4区医学 Q3 INTEGRATIVE & COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE

European Journal of Integrative Medicine Pub Date : 2025-09-17 DOI:10.1016/j.eujim.2025.102556

Rong Li , Yu Zhang , YuHang Xie , XiaoQin Chen

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction

Acupuncture involves many different methods that can effectively treat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). However, the comparative efficacy of different acupuncture-related methods remains unclear. This study aims to evaluate and rank the effectiveness of various acupuncture therapies for CFS through a network meta-analysis.

Methods

A comprehensive search of the three Chinese and four English databases for randomized controlled trials evaluating the use of acupuncture in treating CFS, published from database inception to July 2025, was performed, focusing on FS-14 scores and total effective rates as primary and secondary outcomes, respectively. Bayesian network meta-analysis was used to compare the effectiveness of 9 different intervention methods.

Results

Thirty-five randomized controlled trials comprising 2383 participants were included. Pairwise comparison revealed that moxibustion (mean difference [MD]: 12.43, 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 4.03 to 21.14) and acupuncture (MD: 11.15, 95 %CI: 3.3 to 19.39) were more effective than Western medicine in improving FS-14 scores. Regarding the total effective rate, the therapeutic effect of moxibustion is superior to that of acupuncture (risk ratio [RR]: 0.82, 95 %CI: 0.74 to 0.9) and Western medicine (RR: 1.5, 95 %CI: 1.33 to 1.71). The SUCRA ranking results revealed that regardless of FS-14 score or total effectiveness, moxibustion yielded the first curative effect.

Conclusion

Moxibustion may be advantageous in alleviating the fatigue symptoms of patients with CFS. However, the number of included studies was limited, and high-quality research is needed to confirm our conclusions.

Protocol registration

PROSPERO: CRD42024534790

查看原文本刊更多论文

比较不同针灸方法治疗慢性疲劳综合征：系统综述和网络荟萃分析

针灸包括许多不同的方法，可以有效地治疗慢性疲劳综合征（CFS）。然而，不同针灸相关方法的比较疗效尚不清楚。本研究旨在通过网络荟萃分析，对不同针灸疗法治疗慢性疲劳综合症的疗效进行评价和排序。方法综合检索自数据库建立至2025年7月发表的3个中文和4个英文随机对照试验评价针刺治疗CFS的数据库，将FS-14评分和总有效率分别作为主要和次要结局。采用贝叶斯网络元分析比较9种不同干预方法的有效性。结果纳入35项随机对照试验，受试者2383人。两两比较显示，艾灸（平均差值[MD]: 12.43, 95%可信区间[CI]: 4.03 ~ 21.14）和针刺（MD: 11.15, 95% CI: 3.3 ~ 19.39）改善FS-14评分的效果优于西药。在总有效率方面，艾灸治疗效果优于针刺（风险比[RR]: 0.82, 95% CI: 0.74 ~ 0.9）和西药（风险比[RR]: 1.5, 95% CI: 1.33 ~ 1.71）。SUCRA排名结果显示，无论FS-14评分还是总疗效，艾灸均获得第一疗效。结论艾灸有助于缓解慢性疲劳综合征患者的疲劳症状。然而，纳入的研究数量有限，需要高质量的研究来证实我们的结论。协议注册普洛斯普洛斯：CRD42024534790

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

European Journal of Integrative Medicine INTEGRATIVE & COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE-

CiteScore

4.70

自引率

4.00%

发文量

102

审稿时长

33 days

期刊介绍： The European Journal of Integrative Medicine (EuJIM) considers manuscripts from a wide range of complementary and integrative health care disciplines, with a particular focus on whole systems approaches, public health, self management and traditional medical systems. The journal strives to connect conventional medicine and evidence based complementary medicine. We encourage submissions reporting research with relevance for integrative clinical practice and interprofessional education. EuJIM aims to be of interest to both conventional and integrative audiences, including healthcare practitioners, researchers, health care organisations, educationalists, and all those who seek objective and critical information on integrative medicine. To achieve this aim EuJIM provides an innovative international and interdisciplinary platform linking researchers and clinicians. The journal focuses primarily on original research articles including systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, other clinical studies, qualitative, observational and epidemiological studies. In addition we welcome short reviews, opinion articles and contributions relating to health services and policy, health economics and psychology.