Meta Analysis on Domestic and Overseas Acupuncture Treatment for Nervous Tinnitus / 中国中医药信息杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To conduct a systematic review with evidence collected from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of domestic and overseas acupuncture for nervous tinnitus. Methods RCTs were searched in several databases i.e. CNKI, VIP, CBM and PubMed, using the keywords of acupuncture and tinnitus. The efficacy and methodologies were evaluated using meta-analysis by RevMan5.0. Efficacy indexes i.e. recovery rate, significant efficiency rate, total effective rate of acupuncture in treating nervous tinnitus were assessed using odds ratio (OR). Funnel plot was drawn to analyze publication bias. Begg’s rank test and Egger’s linear regression test were conducted to measure symmetry in funnel plot by using Stata 11.0. Results Fifteen RCTs involving 1082 patients met the inclusive criteria. The results of meta-analyses showed that recovery rate (OR=2.82, 95%CI 1.89 to 4.20), significant efficiency rate (OR=1.75, 95%CI 1.26 to 2.44), total effective rate (OR=3.68, 95%CI 2.62 to 5.16) were significantly higher in acupuncture group than control group. Begg’s rank test (P=0.350) and Egger’s linear regression test (P=0.887) showed partly symmetry in funnel plot with unfilled corner, which indicated that some degree of bias existed in the included studies. Conclusion According to the analysis results, acupuncture or acupuncture combining other therapies were superior to pure medication or non-acupuncture treatments. However, high-quality, large-sample, randomized, controlled trials seem to be needed to further confirm the efficacy of acupuncture, owing to the different standards and research methods, limited qualities of the included studies.