Cupping therapy for patients with chronic urticaria: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Xiao, X., Zhang, L., Shi, Y., Yao, J., Cao, W., Liu, Y., Zou, Z., Zhou, S., Chen, M., Li, C., Zheng, Q., & Li, Y. · Journal of Integrative Medicine · 2020 July

DOI 10.1016/j.joim.2020.05.004

Objective

To investigate the effectiveness and safety of cupping therapy in patients with chronic urticaria (CU).

Conclusions

Cupping therapy, when used in combination with antihistamine treatment or acupuncture, was found to be more effective in reducing symptoms and recurrence rates of CU compared to antihistamines alone or acupuncture alone. Wet cupping was also found to be as effective as treatment with antihistamines. However, the poor quality of the reviewed studies calls for caution in interpreting the results and applying them to clinical practice.

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Insights

Cupping therapy, as an adjunct to current treatments, may potentially enhance efficacy when treating patients with chronic urticaria.

The research adopted a systematic review of randomized controlled trials, with the focus on efficacy and safety of cupping therapy for chronic urticaria. The researchers employed a search strategy aimed at identifying related keywords like "chronic urticaria" and "cupping therapy" in the title and abstracts, sourced from nine major electronic databases up till May 2019. Only trials that included patients with chronic urticaria who received dry or wet cupping were considered. The quality of the methodological design and potential bias of the studies were evaluated. The findings suggest the efficacy of cupping therapy when used, not as a standalone treatment, but as an adjunct to other treatments, particularly to antihistamines and acupuncture. In a sample of trials, there were no significant differences between using wet cupping and conventional medications in terms of their total effective rate. However, cupping therapy combined with antihistamines or acupuncture was found to be more effective than when these treatments were used separately. No serious adverse events were reported as part of these findings.