Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture with Western Medicine for Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Huo X, Liang L, Ding X, Bihazi A, Xu H · Acupuncture & Electro-Therapeutics Research · 2021 August 24

DOI 10.3727/036012921X16237619666076

Objective

In the present study, we assessed the therapeutic qualities of the combination of acupuncture with Western medicine to determine further lines of clinical research.

Conclusions

Treatment using acupuncture with Western medicine was associated with higher efficacy and lower risks than treatment with Western medicine alone. ST36 (Zusanli), EX-UE9 (Baxie), Ll11 (Quchi), GB34 (Yanglingquan), TE14 (Jianliao) and TE4 (Yangchi) were frequently used in treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and had been verified with effect in clinical practice.

Critical Appraisal

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Insights

Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis using acupuncture with Western medicine was associated with higher efficacy and lower risks than treatment with Western medicine alone.

In total, 9 RCTs involving 698 patients were included for analysis. VAS, ESR, CRP, and RF were all shown to favor the combination of acupuncture with Western medicine compared to Western medicine alone. ST36 (Zusanli), EX-UE9 (Baxie), Ll11 (Quchi), GB34 (Yanglingquan), TE14 (Jianliao) and TE4 (Yangchi) were frequently used in 9 clinical trials.