Moxibustion, acupoint injections, and laser acupuncture are potentially effective in treating nocturnal enuresis in children.
To assess the effectiveness of different forms of acupuncture in treating nocturnal enuresis in children, a comprehensive literature review was conducted spanning Medline, EMBASE, Web of Science, CINAHL, PubMed, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, and Scopus. The comprehensive search tracked studies from the inception of each database to September 2020. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess the risk of bias for each study included. The quality of evidence was assessed through the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation tool.
From the extensive search, thirteen trials were selected for review. The studies revealed that more children reported improvements in nocturnal enuresis when treated with moxibustion, acupoint injections, or laser acupuncture, as compared to control groups. However, when comparing the complete cure of nocturnal enuresis between laser acupuncture and desmopressin, no significant difference was observed. Despite the positive findings for moxibustion, acupoint injections, and laser acupuncture, the evidence supporting these interventions is still considered limited and of very low-grade quality.
