Meta-Analysis of the Clinical Effect of Acupuncture on Postherpetic Neuralgia

Abstract

Objective: To systematically evaluate the safety and efficacy of acupuncture on patients with postherpetic neuralgia?Methods: Based on the heyword retrieval method, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI, 1978-2020), China Biomedical Literature database (CBM, 1979-2020), VIP database (WEIPU, 1989-2020), Wanfang database (1989-2020), Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Embase were searched; randomized controlled trials of the use of acupuncture in the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia were screened out; the quality of the included literatures was evaluated based on the evaluation criteria in the Cochrane Handbook, and meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3. Results: Twenty-six literatures that met the criteria, involving 2,174 patients, were included; the meta-analysis showed that compared with western medicine, the use of acupuncture can improve the overall effective rate (RR = 1.24, 95% CI [1.17, 1.32], P < 0.00001) and reduce the VAS score (MD = -1.43, 95% CI [-1.97, -0.89], P < 0.00001). Conclusion: The use of acupuncture can further improve the clinical effect of patients with postherpetic neuralgia.