Electroacupuncture in Treatment of Acute Gastrointestinal Injury in Patients with Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial

Is acupuncture safe in the ICU? A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…However, an appropriate blinding technique for acupuncture investigation, known as the double-blind scheme, was utilized by only one published paper [AminiSaman et al ( 25 )]. Randomized control single-blind trials including patient blinding were mentioned in three studies [Ben-Arie et al ( 16 ), Zhang et al ( 18 ), Xing et al ( 15 )].…”

“…Included are details of patients who underwent surgery processes [6 articles: Zhang et al ( 18 ), Liu et al ( 19 ), Bashar et al ( 28 ), Wang et al ( 34 ), Wu et al ( 43 ), Ben-Arie et al ( 16 )]. EA treatment was implemented as a therapeutic intervention in 12 articles [Xing et al ( 15 ), Xing et al ( 17 ), Liu et al ( 19 ), Zheng et al ( 22 ), Meng et al ( 26 ), Meng et al ( 27 ), Yang et al ( 33 ), Wang et al ( 34 ), Yu et al ( 36 ), Zheng et al ( 38 ), Han et al ( 41 ), Wu et al ( 43 )], while manual acupuncture was conducted in 7 articles [Ben-Arie et al ( 16 ), Li et al ( 23 ), Feeney et al ( 30 ), Matsumoto-Miyazaki et al ( 31 ), Wang et al ( 32 ), Xiao et al ( 35 ), Li et al ( 44 )]. Additionally, an acupoint injection, known as a novel technique for acupoint stimulation, was applied in one study [Yin et al ( 40 )], one study [Zhang et al ( 18 )] implemented Acupoint Catgut Embedding, and another study [Wang et al ( 14 )] used Pyonex/epidermal tacks acupuncture.…”

“…The frequency of acupuncture treatment conducted once daily was completed in 10 studies [Ben-Arie et al ( 16 ), Liu et al ( 19 ), Li et al ( 23 ), Feeney et al ( 30 ), Matsumoto-Miyazaki et al ( 31 ), Wang et al ( 32 ), Wang et al ( 34 ), Xiao et al ( 35 ), Yu et al ( 36 ), Xiao et al ( 37 )]. Acupuncture treatment conducted two times a day was reported in 10 studies [Xing et al ( 15 ), Xing et al ( 17 ), Liu et al ( 20 ), Wang et al ( 21 ), Zheng et al ( 22 ), Meng et al ( 26 ), Meng et al ( 27 ), Bashar et al ( 28 ), Han et al ( 41 ), Li et al ( 44 )]. The remaining frequencies of treatment range in duration and also include continuous stimulation (such as Pyonex/epidermal tack needles or acupoint catgut embedding).…”

“…Regarding the risk of bias, in randomization, four studies were rated as unclear ( 14 , 19 , 20 , 38 ), and five studies were rated as high risk of bias ( 29 – 32 , 42 ). For group allocation, six studies reported the group allocation methods with sufficient details and were ranked as having a low risk of bias ( 15 , 16 , 18 , 33 , 36 , 38 ), whereas the remaining studies did not report the allocation processes in a proper way. Only five studies reported adequate and correct patient and personal blinding ( 15 , 18 , 25 , 28 , 39 ).…”

“…For group allocation, six studies reported the group allocation methods with sufficient details and were ranked as having a low risk of bias ( 15 , 16 , 18 , 33 , 36 , 38 ), whereas the remaining studies did not report the allocation processes in a proper way. Only five studies reported adequate and correct patient and personal blinding ( 15 , 18 , 25 , 28 , 39 ). The outcomes assessment blinding was well reported in five studies ( 16 , 18 , 31 , 33 , 36 ).…”