Auricular acupoint therapy for functional gastrointestinal disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials
IntroductionThis study aims to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to evaluate the efficacy and safety of auricular acupoint therapy (AAT) for functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs).MethodsWe conducted a thorough search across eight databases, includi...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-03-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2025.1513272/full |
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| author | Meng-Yuan Shen Ze-Jiong Li Shu-Han Wang Tian-Chen Lin Qin-Yi Lou Shan Liu Dan-Dan Feng Dong-Dong Yang Chen-Juan Wang Zhe-Kai Ying Rong Zhou Jian-Nong Wu |
| author_facet | Meng-Yuan Shen Ze-Jiong Li Shu-Han Wang Tian-Chen Lin Qin-Yi Lou Shan Liu Dan-Dan Feng Dong-Dong Yang Chen-Juan Wang Zhe-Kai Ying Rong Zhou Jian-Nong Wu |
| author_sort | Meng-Yuan Shen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionThis study aims to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to evaluate the efficacy and safety of auricular acupoint therapy (AAT) for functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs).MethodsWe conducted a thorough search across eight databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, and CBM. The search covered the period from the inception of each database up to June 30, 2024. The authors independently reviewed all the references, evaluated the risk of bias, and extracted the data. GRADEpro software was utilized to calculate overall strength of evidence. A random effects or fixed effects model was selected on the basis of the p-value and I2. RevMan 5.3, Stata/MP 18.0, R 4.3.1 and R Studio 2023.09.0 were used for data processing. TSA 0.9.5.10 beta software was used to evaluate data stability.ResultsThe review included 19 randomized controlled trials with a total of 1,681 patients (895 in the treatment group and 886 in the control group). The treatment duration ranged from 2–12 weeks. The meta-analysis revealed that, compared with the control, AAT was significantly more effective at treating FGIDs (RR: 1.35; 95% CI: 1.21–1.51; p < 0.001), reducing the symptom score (MD: −1.94; 95% CI: −3.06 to −0.85; p < 0.001; five trials), improving the SAS score (MD: −12.47; 95% CI: −13.92 to −11.01; p < 0.001; five trials), and improving the SDS score (MD: −4.97; 95% CI: −9.23 to −0.72; p = 0.02; six trials). A total of two articles mentioned relatively significant adverse reactions (MD: 2.98; 95% CI: 0.51–17.26; p = 0.009). Sensitivity and trial sequential analyses confirmed the stability of these results.DiscussionWhile our meta-analysis suggests that AAT may offer benefits for FGIDs, these results must be interpreted with caution due to methodological limitations in the included trials. Further investigations in high-quality trials are warranted.Systematic review registrationhttps://clinicaltrials.gov/, identifier CRD42024558786. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-47db5938f94e4866a5cbd0a3e8cc5e97 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2296-858X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Medicine |
| spelling | doaj-art-47db5938f94e4866a5cbd0a3e8cc5e972025-08-20T03:02:37ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Medicine2296-858X2025-03-011210.3389/fmed.2025.15132721513272Auricular acupoint therapy for functional gastrointestinal disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trialsMeng-Yuan Shen0Ze-Jiong Li1Shu-Han Wang2Tian-Chen Lin3Qin-Yi Lou4Shan Liu5Dan-Dan Feng6Dong-Dong Yang7Chen-Juan Wang8Zhe-Kai Ying9Rong Zhou10Jian-Nong Wu11The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Zhejiang, ChinaThe First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Zhejiang, ChinaThe First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Zhejiang, ChinaThe First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Zhejiang, ChinaThe First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Zhejiang, ChinaThe First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Zhejiang, ChinaDepartment of Intensive Care Unit, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Hangzhou, ChinaThe First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Zhejiang, ChinaThe First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Zhejiang, ChinaThe First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Zhejiang, ChinaThe First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Zhejiang, ChinaDepartment of Intensive Care Unit, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Hangzhou, ChinaIntroductionThis study aims to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to evaluate the efficacy and safety of auricular acupoint therapy (AAT) for functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs).MethodsWe conducted a thorough search across eight databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, and CBM. The search covered the period from the inception of each database up to June 30, 2024. The authors independently reviewed all the references, evaluated the risk of bias, and extracted the data. GRADEpro software was utilized to calculate overall strength of evidence. A random effects or fixed effects model was selected on the basis of the p-value and I2. RevMan 5.3, Stata/MP 18.0, R 4.3.1 and R Studio 2023.09.0 were used for data processing. TSA 0.9.5.10 beta software was used to evaluate data stability.ResultsThe review included 19 randomized controlled trials with a total of 1,681 patients (895 in the treatment group and 886 in the control group). The treatment duration ranged from 2–12 weeks. The meta-analysis revealed that, compared with the control, AAT was significantly more effective at treating FGIDs (RR: 1.35; 95% CI: 1.21–1.51; p < 0.001), reducing the symptom score (MD: −1.94; 95% CI: −3.06 to −0.85; p < 0.001; five trials), improving the SAS score (MD: −12.47; 95% CI: −13.92 to −11.01; p < 0.001; five trials), and improving the SDS score (MD: −4.97; 95% CI: −9.23 to −0.72; p = 0.02; six trials). A total of two articles mentioned relatively significant adverse reactions (MD: 2.98; 95% CI: 0.51–17.26; p = 0.009). Sensitivity and trial sequential analyses confirmed the stability of these results.DiscussionWhile our meta-analysis suggests that AAT may offer benefits for FGIDs, these results must be interpreted with caution due to methodological limitations in the included trials. Further investigations in high-quality trials are warranted.Systematic review registrationhttps://clinicaltrials.gov/, identifier CRD42024558786.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2025.1513272/fullauricular acupoint therapyfunctional gastrointestinal disorderssystematic reviewmeta-analysisrandomized controlled trials |
| spellingShingle | Meng-Yuan Shen Ze-Jiong Li Shu-Han Wang Tian-Chen Lin Qin-Yi Lou Shan Liu Dan-Dan Feng Dong-Dong Yang Chen-Juan Wang Zhe-Kai Ying Rong Zhou Jian-Nong Wu Auricular acupoint therapy for functional gastrointestinal disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials Frontiers in Medicine auricular acupoint therapy functional gastrointestinal disorders systematic review meta-analysis randomized controlled trials |
| title | Auricular acupoint therapy for functional gastrointestinal disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials |
| title_full | Auricular acupoint therapy for functional gastrointestinal disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials |
| title_fullStr | Auricular acupoint therapy for functional gastrointestinal disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials |
| title_full_unstemmed | Auricular acupoint therapy for functional gastrointestinal disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials |
| title_short | Auricular acupoint therapy for functional gastrointestinal disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials |
| title_sort | auricular acupoint therapy for functional gastrointestinal disorders a systematic review and meta analysis of randomized clinical trials |
| topic | auricular acupoint therapy functional gastrointestinal disorders systematic review meta-analysis randomized controlled trials |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2025.1513272/full |
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