[A Meta-analysis of acupuncture therapy for chronic urticaria].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture therapy in the treatment of chronic urticaria. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials of acupuncture treatment of chronic urticaria published from January of 2008 to October of 2018 were searched from databases of CNKI, VIP, Wanfang, CBM, PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library by using key words "urticaria or urticarias" "acupuncture therapy" "acupuncture treatment" and "randomized controlled trial (RCT)". The retrieved RCT papers were input into EndNote X8 document management software for screening the qualified ones, followed by evaluating the quality of the screened papers. The data extraction table was designed, and the information and data needed for the research were accurately extracted. Finally, Review Manager 5.3 software was used to analyze the included literature. RESULTS: A total of 1 095 articles were retrieved, and 16 RCTs were included finally. The Meta-analysis showed that the total therapeutic efficacy was OR＝3.85, 95% CI [2.61, 5.69], P<0.000 01. The diamonds for comparison between the acupuncture and control (medication) groups in the "Feng Tuan"(urticaria) number, itching, onset duration, swelling degree and scratch test scores were on the right side of the invalid line of forest maps. The recurrence rate (reported in 4 papers) was lower in the acupuncture group than in the control group (OR＝0.28, 95% CI being [0.14, 0.55], P＝0.000 3). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture treatment is significantly better than antihistamine administration alone in the treatment of chronic urticaria, with lower recurrence rate. High-quality clinical studies with rigorous design and large sample sizes are needed for providing more reliable evidence.

[A Meta-analysis on Acupuncture and Moxibustion Treatment of Schizophrenia].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy and security of acupuncture therapy combined with conventional antipsychotics in the treatment of schizophrenia. METHODS: We first comprehensively retrieved papers about acupuncture or moxibustion treatment of schizophrenia published from the time of establishment of the database to April of 2017 in Chinese databases such as Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI), Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database (VIP), Wanfang, and Chinese BioMedical Literature (CBM) by using keywords "acupuncture""moxibustion""acupuncture ＋moxibustion""acupuncture ＋medication""electroacupuncture""filiform needle""scalp-acupuncture""auricular acupuncture"， etc. Then, according to the principles and methods of evidence-based medicine, papers conformed to the included standards were enrolled to Meta-analysis by using Review Manager 5.3 software. RESULTS: A total of 618 studies were identified, with only 17 articles (containing 1 542 patients) conformed to our included standards and analyzed finally. In regard to the total effective rate of acupuncture or moxibustion for schizophrenia, the combined OR＝3.09, 95% CI (2.31, 4.13), the diamond was on the right side of the vertical line (suggesting being effective), OR checked by Z test (Z＝7.61, P<0.000 01). In regard to the untoward effect, the combined OR＝0.34, 95% CI (0.16, 0.75), the diamond was on the left side of the vertical line (suggesting less adverse effects), OR checked by Z test (Z＝2.67，P＝0.008). Sensitivity analysis: the combined standardized mean difference (SMD)＝－0.61, 95% CI(－0.88, －0.34), the diamond was on the left side of the vertical line (suggesting having more profits than simple medication), SMD checked by Z test (Z＝4.39, P<0.000 1)．. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture and moxibustion combined with conventional antipsychotics is significantly better than that of antipsychotics alone in the treatment of schizophrenia and has less side effects. But, high quality clinical studies with rigorous experimental design and large sample size are needed to provide more reliable evidence.