Placebo Response Rates in Acupuncture Therapy Trials for Functional Dyspepsia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

This study aims to quantify placebo responses in clinical trials in which FD patients received sham manual acupuncture (MA) and sham electroacupuncture (EA). Materials and Methods: Randomized controlled trials of MA and EA for FD patients were searched in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Embase databases, as well as 4 Chinese language databases from inception to January 2021. RevMan 5.20 software was used for pooled analysis of symptom scores and quality of life. The symptom scores were combined using standard mean difference (SMD) or weighted mean difference (WMD) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). The quality of included studies was tested using modified Jadad scale and Standards for Reporting Interventions in Controlled Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA) checklist. Egger’s test, Begg’s test, and sensitivity analyses were conducted using Stata 11.0 statistical software. The protocol of this study is registered in PROSPERO as CRD42021233858. Results: After screening, the current systematic review included 13 randomized controlled trials, of which 8 studies were used in the meta-analysis. Regarding subjective outcomes, the combined effect of sham MA on FD symptoms was [SMD=−0.42, 95% CI (−0.72, −0.12); P=0.005], whereas sham EA treatment was [SMD=−0.54, 95% CI (−0.81, −0.27); P
Source: Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology - Category: Gastroenterology Tags: Clinical Reviews Source Type: research