Acupuncture Therapy for Functional Effects and Quality of Life in COPD Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture therapy (AT) for improving functional effects and quality of life in COPD patients. Methods. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chongqing VIP (CQVIP), and Wanfang Data were searched. The randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effect of AT on COPD patients were included. Primary outcome measures included six-minute walk distance (6MWD) and St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). Study selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment were independently conducted, respectively. Statistical analysis was conducted by RevMan software (version 5.3) and Stata software (version 12.0). Results. Nineteen studies (1298 participants) were included. 6MWD improved more (MD: 47.84; 95% CI: 23.33 to 72.35; Z = 3.83, P=0.0001) and effective rate was higher (OR: 2.26; 95% CI: 1.43 to 3.58; Z = 3.48, P=0.0005) in the experimental group compared to the control group. Symptom domain scores (MD: −24.86; 95% CI: −32.17 to −17.55; Z = 6.66, P