A network Meta-analysis on the efficacy of acupoint therapy for endometriosis

YUAN Xiaoyi; HE Shenglan; DU Zifei; LYU Hang; WANG Yong

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-3806.2024.06.14

Abstract：Objective To systematically evaluate the efficacy of acupoint therapy for endometriosis(EMT).Methods The literature related to the treatment of EMT with different Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM)external therapeutic methods represented by acupoint therapy was searched in PubMed,the Cochrane Library,Embase,and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI)databases.The searched papers were collected in each database from its establishment time to June 1,2023.Finally,66 papers were included,all of which were randomized controlled trial(RCT)studies,including 6 therapeutic combinations:simple TCM therapy,simple Western medicine therapy,simple acupoint therapy,TCM combined with acupoint therapy,Western medicine combined with acupoint therapy,Western medicine and TCM combined with acupoint therapy.Network Meta-analysis was used to evaluate the effects of the therapeutic methods on major outcome indicators including cancer antigen 125(CA125),estradiol(E2),follicle-stimulating hormone(FSH),luteinizing hormone(LH),prostaglandin F2α(PGF2α)and Visual Analogue Scale(VAS)score.Results The results of the consistency model analysis showed that in terms of the improvement of CA125 level,the effect of Western medicine combined with acupoint therapy was significantly better than that of simple TCM therapy and simple Western medicine therapy(P＜0.05),and there was no statistically significant difference in the improvement of CA125 level among the other therapeutic groups(P＞0.05).In terms of the improvement of LH level,the effect of Western medicine and TCM combined with acupoint therapy was significantly better than that of simple Western medicine therapy(P＜0.05),and there was no statistically significant difference in the improvement of LH level among the other therapeutic groups(P＞0.05).In terms of the improvement of PGF2α level,the effect of Western medicine combined with acupoint therapy was significantly better than that of simple TCM therapy,simple Western medicine therapy,simple acupoint therapy,TCM combined with acupoint therapy,and Western medicine and TCM combined with acupoint therapy(P＞0.05),and the effect of TCM combined with acupoint therapy and Western medicine and TCM combined with acupoint therapy was sig-nificantly better than that of simple Western medicine therapy(P＜0.05).There was no statistically significant difference in the improvement of PGF2α level among the other therapeutic groups(P＞0.05).There were no statistically significant differences in the improvements of E2 and FSH levels,and VAS scores among the other therapeutic groups(P＞0.05).Conclusion Acupoint therapy,as an adjuvant therapy,can effectively promote the improvement of key indicators of EMT.