Eastern medicine treatments for facial paralysis, including acupuncture and herbal treatments, did not present a higher effectiveness rate than Western medicine alone in this meta-analysis.
The methodology of this meta-analysis involved a thorough review of the PubMed and Cochrane databases, aligning with PRISMA guidelines. Studies included in this analysis had to be peer-reviewed and published between 2000 and 2023, and report on Eastern medicine interventions for facial paralysis. The specific interventions investigated were categorized into six groups, including standard acupuncture, special needle therapies, needle therapy with other alternative treatments, herbal medicine, alternative treatments with Western medicine, and Western medicine alone. Primary outcomes extracted from these studies were 'effective' and 'cured' rates, and a multiple-treatment meta-analysis was conducted to compare the effectiveness across groups.
Discussion surrounding the results revealed no significant differences in effectiveness or cure rates across all intervention groups. Regardless of the combination or type of Easten medicine treatment applied, none demonstrated a higher cure or effectiveness rate than Western medicine alone. While the meta-analysis identified several quality concerns - such as missing control groups, lack of blinding, and insufficient randomization - in several studies, it also brought forward the failure of many to report complications, thus inhibiting conclusions to be drawn about the safety of these Eastern medicine interventions.
