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Meta-Analysis
. 2019 Oct 25;19(1):282.
doi: 10.1186/s12906-019-2687-1.

Efficacy of acupuncture in the management of post-apoplectic aphasia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

He-Yong Tang  1 , Wei Tang  1 , Feng Yang  2 , Wei-Wei Wu  3 , Guo-Ming Shen  4
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Efficacy of acupuncture in the management of post-apoplectic aphasia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

He-Yong Tang et al. BMC Complement Altern Med. .

Abstract

Background: Aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of scalp, tongue, and Jin's 3-needle acupuncture for the improvement of postapoplectic aphasia.

Method: PubMed, Cochrane, Embase databases were searched using index words to identify qualifying randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Meta-analyses of odds ratios (OR) or standardized mean differences (SMD) were performed to evaluate the outcomes between investigational (scalp / tongue / Jin's 3-needle acupuncture) and control (traditional acupuncture; TA and/or rehabilitation training; RT) groups.

Results: Thirty-two RCTs (1310 participants in investigational group and 1270 in control group) were included. Compared to TA, (OR 3.05 [95% CI: 1.77, 5.28]; p<0.00001), tongue acupuncture (OR 3.49 [1.99, 6.11]; p<0.00001), and Jin's 3-needle therapy (OR 2.47 [1.10, 5.53]; p = 0.03) had significantly better total effective rate. Compared to RT, scalp acupuncture (OR 4.24 [95% CI: 1.68, 10.74]; p = 0.002) and scalp acupuncture with tongue acupuncture (OR 7.36 [3.33, 16.23]; p<0.00001) had significantly better total effective rate. In comparison with TA/RT, scalp acupuncture, tongue acupuncture, scalp acupuncture with tongue acupuncture, and Jin's three-needling significantly improved ABC, oral expression, comprehension, writing and reading scores.

Conclusion: As treatments to postapoplectic aphasia, scalp / tongue acupuncture and Jin's Three-needling are found better than TA and/or RT in yielding total effective rate and improving ABC, oral expression, comprehension, reading and writing scores.

Keywords: Acupuncture; Meta-analysis; Postapoplectic aphasia; Randomized controlled trail.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A flowchart of literature search and selection process
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
A funnel plot corresponding to the meta-analysis of total effective rate showing the absence of publication bias
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Forest graph showing the meta-analysis of odds ratios of the total effective rate in the (a) investigational group compared to the (b) control group
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Forest plot of the ABC score in the investigational group compared to the control group
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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