Effect and safety of stimulating acupoints in children with cough variant asthma:A Meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of stimulating acupoints in subjects with childhood cough variant asthma(CVA).METHODS:A Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials(RCTs) about the comparison between acupoint sticking therapy and non-acupoint sticking therapy for childhood CVA was conducted.The trials' quality and risk bias were assessed using the Cochrane Handbook tool.Odds ratio(OR) or risk ratio(RR) with 95% confidence intervals(CIs),mean differences(MDs) or standardized mean differences(SMDs) of a random-effects model were calculated.Heterogeneity was assessed by P value and I2 statistics.RESULTS:Thirteen studies were included in our review,indicating that the total effective rate of stimulating-acupoint group is better than that of control group [RR 1.19,95% CI(1.13-1.26),P < 0.00001].The recurrence rate in two years [RR 0.31,95%CI(0.19-0.51),P < 0.000 01] and cough duration[MD =-2.42,95% CI(-3.75,-1.09),P = 0.0004]of childhood CVA in stimulating-acupoint group were significantly lower than those in control group.Besides,stimulating acupoints can reduce the level of Ig E [SMD =-0.75,95% CI(-1.21,-0.30),P = 0.001] and EOS [SMD =-0.36,95% CI(-0.92,0.21),P = 0.22].CONCLUSION:Our findings suggest that stimulating acupoints had positive effects on childhood CVA and was relatively safe treatment.However,more RCTs with more useful indicators are warrant to confirm the current findings.