Acupuncture and moxibustion treatment for myasthenia gravis: A systematic review and meta-analysis (2024)

https://doi.org/10.1097/md.0000000000037961 ·

Abstract

<jats:sec> Background: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a common autoimmune disease that often involves the skeletal muscle of the whole body and seriously affects patients’ quality of life. Acupuncture and moxibustion treatment of MG has unique advantages, the aim is to evaluate the clinical effect of acupuncture and moxibustion on MG. </jats:sec> <jats:sec> Methods: The literature on acupuncture and moxibustion treating MG in PubMed, CochraneLibrary, EMBASE, SCI, China Academic Journals full-text database, China Biology Medicine disc, VIP and Wanfang database were searched through computers from the establishment of the database to December 2022. </jats:sec> <jats:sec> Results: A total of 11 studies were included, involving 658 patients, where 330 in the treatment group and 328 in the control group. The results of the meta-analysis showed that the treatment group performed better than the control group in improving the total clinical response rate (OR = 3.26, 95%[2.04,5.21], <jats:italic toggle="yes">P < .01). Additionally, the treatment group outperformed the control group in raising the absolute clinical score (MD = −3.48, 95%CI[−5.17, −1.78], <jats:italic toggle="yes">P < .01). However, there was no significant difference between the treatment group and the control group in improving the level of serum interleukin-6 receptor (MD = −1.45,95%CI[−6.85,3.95], <jats:italic toggle="yes">P > .05) and OMG quantitative score (MD = −2.16,95%CI[−4.85,0.52], <jats:italic toggle="yes">P > .05). The total clinical effective rate was tested for publication bias, which showed that the 2 sides of the funnel plot were asymmetrical, suggesting the possible existence of publication bias. </jats:sec> <jats:sec> Conclusion: Acupuncture and moxibustion has a good effect on MG, which is better than conventional Western medicine in improving the total clinical effective rate and absolute clinical score. </jats:sec>

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Number of works in the list of references	32
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Journal indexed in Web of Science	Yes