Acupuncture treatment for central post-stroke pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of central post-stroke pain (CPSP). Methods Randomized controlled trials of acupuncture treatment for CPSP in PubMed, Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform (Wanfang), Chongqing VIP Database (VIP), and China Biology Medicine Disc (CBM) were retrieved by computer. The retrieval time was from each database’s inception to July 2023. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software; GRADEprofiler 3.6.1 software was used to evaluate the quality of evidence. Dichotomous variables were analyzed by the risk ratio (RR). Continuous data were analyzed by mean difference (MD) with a confidence interval (CI) of 95%. Results A total of 14 studies were included, comprising a total of 1 045 patients. The findings of the meta-analysis showed that compared with Western medication in treating CPSP, the acupuncture treatment had a higher clinical effective rate [RR=1.09, 95%CI (1.01, 1.19), Z =2.08, P