Effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for postoperative ileus following gastrointestinal surgery: A systematic review and metaanalysis (2025)

Acupuncture and Related Therapies for Treatment of Postoperative Ileus in Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2018

Delays in recovery of intestinal function following abdominal surgery are associated with longer hospital stays, increased postoperative complications, and higher costs to the health care system. Studies of acupuncture for postoperative ileus and other postoperative issues have reported improvements. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess whether acupuncture assisted recovery following surgery for colorectal cancer (CRC). Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were identified from major English and Chinese language biomedical databases. Participants (aged 18 years plus) had received surgical resection for CRC. 22 studies (1,628 participants) were included. Five were sham-controlled. Outcomes included gastrointestinal function recovery (21 studies), recovery of urinary function (1 study), postoperative abdominal distension (3 studies), and quality of life (1 study). Meta-analyses found significant reductions in time to first bowel sounds, first flatus, and first defeca...

The effectiveness of acupuncture in postoperative gastroparesis syndrome – A systematic review and meta-analysis

Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 2014

Background: Postoperative gastroparesis syndrome (PGS) which is mainly manifested as delayed gastric emptying is often caused by upper abdominal and sometimes lower abdominal surgery. In view of the side effects of drugs therapy, the search of supplementary and alternative has been of increasing interest. Objective: This paper included a systematic review and metaanalysis on the use of acupuncture and acupoints selection in PGS. Quality for meta-analysis was evaluated using GRADE while each trial was assessed with CONSORT and STRICTA for TCM. Methods: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing acupuncture with non-acupuncture treatment were identified from databases PubMed, EBSCO, Ovid, Cochrane, CNKI and Wanfangdata. Meta-analysis on eligible studies was performed using fixed-effects model with RevMan 5.2. Results were expressed as relative risk (RR) for dichotomous data, and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated. Results: Of the 348 studies reviewed, 16 RCTs met the inclusion criteria for review while 7 RCTs, 188 patients (intervention) and 182 patients (control) met the criteria for meta-analysis. Both acupuncture and acupuncture combined with medication showed significant higher total effective rate than control (usual care/medication); with (RR 1.27, 95% CI 1.13, 1.44; P<0.0001) and (RR 1.37, 95% CI 1.18, 1.58; P<0.0001) respectively. All included RCTs reported positive effect of acupuncture in PGS treatment. ST36, CV12 and PC6 seemed to be the common acupoints selected. Conclusions: The results suggested acupuncture might be effective to improve PGS, however, a definite conclusion could not be drawn due to the low quality of trials. Further large-scale, high-quality randomised clinical trials are needed to validate this. Study registration: PROSPERO CRD42013005485.

Acupuncture treatment in gastrointestinal diseases: A systematic review

World Journal of Gastroenterology, 2007

The purpose of this work was to assess the evidence for effectiveness of acupuncture (AC) treatment in gastrointestinal diseases. A systematic review of the Medline-cited literature for clinical trials was performed up to May 2006. Controlled trials assessing acupuncture point stimulation for patients with gastrointestinal diseases were considered for inclusion. The search identified 18 relevant trials meeting the inclusion criteria. Two irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) trials, 1 Crohn's disease and 1 colitis ulcerosa trial had a robust random controlled trial (RCT) design. In regard to other gastrointestinal disorders, study quality was poor. In all trials, quality of life (QoL) improved significantly independently from the kind of acupuncture, real or sham. Real AC was significantly superior to sham acupuncture with regard to disease activity scores in the Crohn and Colitis trials. Effi cacy of acupuncture related to QoL in IBS may be explained by unspecific effects. This is the same for QoL in infl ammatory bowel diseases (IBD), whereas specific acupuncture effects may be found in clinical scores. Further trials for IBDs and in particular for all other gastrointestinal disorders would be necessary to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture treatment. However, it must be discussed on what terms patients benefi t when this harmless and obviously powerful therapy with regard to QoL is demystifi ed by further placebo controlled trials.

Acupuncture for irritable bowel syndrome: systematic review and meta-analysis

The American journal of gastroenterology, 2012

Evidence-based treatment guidelines have been unable to provide evidence-based guidance on the effects of acupuncture for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) because the only previous systematic review included only small, heterogeneous, and methodologically unsound trials. We conducted a new systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to estimate the effects of acupuncture for treating IBS. MEDLINE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health, and the Chinese databases Sino-Med, CNKI, and VIP were searched through November 2011. Eligible RCTs compared acupuncture with sham acupuncture, other active treatments, or no (specific) treatment, and evaluated acupuncture as an adjuvant to another treatment. Our outcomes were overall IBS symptom severity and health-related quality of life. Dichotomous data were pooled to provide a relative risk (RR) of substantial improvement after treatment, and continu...

A Meta-analysis of Acupuncture Treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Journal of Integrative Medicine, 2021

To assess the efficacy of acupuncture for treatment of irritable bowel syndrome through meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials in recent 20 years. Online databases, including CNKI, VIP, WANFANG,PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and Embase were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture for IBS. Retrieval time was from January 1, 2000 to January 31, 2021. According to Jadad scoring criteria,the bias risk and quality assessment of each RCT included were evaluated by two researchers. RevMan 5.3 software was used for the meta analysis. Eight RCTs were selected which include a total of 1181 patients.The control group has 425 patients and the experimental group has 756 patients. The result of meta-analysis indicates that the total effective rate for the experimental group was superior to that of the control group [OR=3.29,95%CI [2.16~5.03](P&lt;0.01)], and the funnel plot was basically symmetric. Acupuncture therapy is shown to have a good safety and com...

Acupuncture for irritable bowel syndrome: primary care based pragmatic randomised controlled trial

BMC Gastroenterology, 2012

Background: Acupuncture is used by patients as a treatment for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) but the evidence on effectiveness is limited. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture for irritable bowel syndrome in primary care when provided as an adjunct to usual care. Methods: Design: A two-arm pragmatic randomised controlled trial. Setting: Primary care in the United Kingdom. Patients: 233 patients had irritable bowel syndrome with average duration of 13 years and score of at least 100 on the IBS Symptom Severity Score (SSS). Interventions: 116 patients were offered 10 weekly individualised acupuncture sessions plus usual care, 117 patients continued with usual care alone. Measurements: Primary outcome was the IBS SSS at three months, with outcome data collected every three months to 12 months. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between groups at three months favouring acupuncture with a reduction in IBS Symptom Severity Score of −27.43 (95% CI: -48.66 to −6.21, p = 0.012). The number needed to treat for successful treatment (≥50 point reduction in the IBS SSS) was six (95% CI: 3 to 17), based on 49% success in the acupuncture group vs. 31% in the control group, a difference between groups of 18% (95% CI: 6% to 31%). This benefit largely persisted at 6, 9 and 12 months.

Comparing the Effects of Acupuncture and Pharmacologic Therapies on Delayed Gastric Emptying: A Prospective, Block-Randomized, Single-Blinded, Parallel Clinical Trial

Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal, 2016

Background: Nutritional therapy in the forms of parenteral or enteral nutrition is an important factor of care and appears to positively impact the clinical outcomes of critically ill patients. Objectives: This study aimed to compare the effects of acupuncture and prokinetic drugs on delayed gastric emptying (DGE) in intensive care unit patients. Methods: In a prospective, block-randomized, single-blinded, parallel group trial, 60 fully sedated, mechanically ventilated surgical patients were enrolled in two groups with 30 patients in each group in Besat hospital in Hamadan, Iran from February 2011 to October 2012. Patients in the drug treatment group received 10 mg of IV metoclopramide every eight hours. For patients with whom persistent DGE was seen, 500 mg of IV erythromycin every 24 hours was added. Patients in the acupuncture group received bilateral prolonged intermittent transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation of acupuncture point Neiguan. The intervention was performed for six consecutive days or until the cessation of gradual residual volume. Results: A demographic analysis of the participants revealed no significant differences between groups (P > 0.05). Although the results of the RANOVA model for DGE did not show a significant time trend (P > 0.05) in both acupuncture and drug groups, comparing means of the both acupuncture and drug groups in all the time points after the intervention were significant (P = 0.024):

The Role of Traditional Acupuncture in Patients with Fecal Incontinence—Mini-Review

2021

Objective: Fecal incontinence affects up to 15% of the general population, with higher rates of incidence among women and the elderly. Acupuncture is an old practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine that might be used to treat fecal incontinence. The aim of this mini review was to assess the effect of acupuncture for fecal incontinence. Materials and Methods: Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase, PubMed, and CENTRAL electronic databases were searched until August 2020. The following keywords were used: acupuncture, electroacupuncture, moxibustion, fecal incontinence, diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, and bowel dysfunction. In addition, references were searched. Five studies (two randomized controlled trials), out of 52,249 predefined publications after an electronic database search, were included into the review. Results: Overall, 143 patients were included. All studies report significant improvements in continence, although they all apply different acupuncture regimens. Random...

Acupuncture for Acute Postoperative Pain after Back Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain, 2015

Acupuncture is commonly used as a complimentary treatment for pain management. However, there has been no systematic review summarizing the current evidence concerning the effectiveness of acupuncture for acute postoperative pain after back surgery. This systematic review aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment for acute postoperative pain (≤1 week) after back surgery. We searched 15 electronic databases without language restrictions. Two reviewers independently assessed studies for eligibility and extracted data, outcomes, and risk of bias. Random effect meta-analyses and subgroup analyses were performed. Five trials, including 3 of high quality, met our inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis showed positive results for acupuncture treatment of pain after surgery in terms of the visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain intensity 24 hours after surgery, when compared to sham acupuncture (standard mean difference -0.67 (-1.04 to -0.31), P = 0.0003), whereas the othe...

Acupuncture in Preventing Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting: Efficacy of Two Acupuncture Points Versus a Single One

Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies, 2014

Despite recent advances in anesthesiology and postoperative care, postoperative nausea and vomiting are common complaints. Although acupuncture techniques have received attention in anesthesiology, the ideal technique and selection of the most appropriate acupuncture points are still under debate. This study compared the efficacy of two simultaneous acupuncture points with that of a single point in the prevention and treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting following general anesthesia through a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial involving 227 surgical patients undergoing general anesthesia who were randomly assigned into two groups. The first group received acupuncture by stimulation only on the PC6 point (single group), and the second group underwent concomitant stimulation of the PC6 and the L14 acupuncture points (combined group) during surgery under general anesthesia. The prevalences of postoperative nausea and vomiting were compared between the two groups. No significant differences were