Objective： To summarize existing evidence on acupuncture treatment for peripheral neuropathy （PN） and potentially generate a meta-analysis by performing a structured literature review. Methods： Literature searches...Objective： To summarize existing evidence on acupuncture treatment for peripheral neuropathy （PN） and potentially generate a meta-analysis by performing a structured literature review. Methods： Literature searches were conducted on 11 databases. All identified clinical studies of acupuncture and electroacupuncture for peripheral neuropathy due to diabetes, chemotherapy, human immunodeficiency virus （HIV） and unknown cause were included. Study criteria such as sample size, randomization, controls, blinding, acupuncture patterns and outcome measurements were examined for the requirements of the meta-analysis. Results： Among the 26 studies included, no high quality randomized clinical trial was found. There were methodical limitations in all studies. Small sample size was found in 9 studies, lack of randomization in 25, lack of controls in 8, inadequate controls in 11, and lack of blinding in 24 studies, as well as a high variability of acupuncture patterns and outcome measurements. Conclusion： Nearly all acupuncture pilot studies on peripheral neuropathy give positive results encouraging further investigation, but a meta-analysis is not possible on the existent data. Randomized, controlled, blinded clinical trials with adequate design and significance still have to be performed.展开更多
文摘Objective： To summarize existing evidence on acupuncture treatment for peripheral neuropathy （PN） and potentially generate a meta-analysis by performing a structured literature review. Methods： Literature searches were conducted on 11 databases. All identified clinical studies of acupuncture and electroacupuncture for peripheral neuropathy due to diabetes, chemotherapy, human immunodeficiency virus （HIV） and unknown cause were included. Study criteria such as sample size, randomization, controls, blinding, acupuncture patterns and outcome measurements were examined for the requirements of the meta-analysis. Results： Among the 26 studies included, no high quality randomized clinical trial was found. There were methodical limitations in all studies. Small sample size was found in 9 studies, lack of randomization in 25, lack of controls in 8, inadequate controls in 11, and lack of blinding in 24 studies, as well as a high variability of acupuncture patterns and outcome measurements. Conclusion： Nearly all acupuncture pilot studies on peripheral neuropathy give positive results encouraging further investigation, but a meta-analysis is not possible on the existent data. Randomized, controlled, blinded clinical trials with adequate design and significance still have to be performed.
