Auriculotherapy to manage chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in patients with cancer: a systematic review

Objective To assess the effects of auriculotherapy for the management of CINV in cancer patients. Methods This is a systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We searched MEDLINE via PubMed, AMED, Biblio Auriculo, Embase, CINAHL, CENTRAL, BVS, MTCI Américas, Web of Science, Scopus, PEDro, CNKI, CBMdisc, and CSJD-VIP databases up to September 2021 with no language restrictions. Results We included 25 studies with a total of 2,167 randomized participants. The results of the included studies suggest positive effects of auriculotherapy for the control of CINV, however 92% studies presented a high risk of bias overall. In the included studies, the most used auricular acupoints in the studies were the stomach (CO4) (n = 24, 96%), shenmen (TF4) (n = 23, 92%), sympathetic nerve (AH6a) (n = 15, 60%), spleen (CO13) (n = 14, 56%), liver (CO12) (n = 11, 44%), subcortex (AT4) (n = 10, 40%), and cardia (CO3) (n = 9, 36%). Conclusions It was not possible to assess the effectiveness of auriculotherapy for the management of CINV due to the great heterogeneity of the studies regarding the form of evaluating the outcome, the application of auriculotherapy, and the high risk of bias. It is suggested that robust clinical trials be conducted and reported according to the STRICTA guidelines.