The effectiveness of acupuncture and moxibustion in treating acute cerebral infarction: A meta-analysis / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To analyze the clinical efficacy of acupuncture and moxibustion in treating acute cerebral infarction.Methods A thorough literature search of randomized and controlled tests of acupuncture and moxibustion in treating the acute cerebral infarction was conducted.A meta-analysis was performed using version 5.3 of the ReviewManager software.Results Thirty-nine reports covering 3792 cases were found and analyzed.The neurologic impairment analysis found that in the experimental group mean difference (MD) was-1.86,with the 95％ credibility interval (CI) of between-2.06 and-1.66 showing significant differences compared with the control group.The average clinical effectiveness rate of the experimental groups was 3.95,with a 95％ CI of between-3.02 and 5.16,significantly higher than the control groups'.The experimental groups' markedly effective rate was 1.54,with a 95％ CI of 1.40 to 1.70,showing significant differences compared with the control groups.Conclusion Acupuncture and moxibustion are effective in treating acute cerebral infarction.They are worth popularizing in clinical practice.