Clinical Effects and Safety of Auricular Acupressure as an Adjunct Therapy on Postoperative Pain among Patients with Hip Fracture: A Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the short-term outcome of treatment by auricular acupressure (AA) on postoperative pain among hip fracture (HF) patients. METHODS: A systematic search for randomized controlled trials on this topic was conducted through May 2022 by searching multiple English and Chinese databases. The methodological quality of the included trails was assessed by the Cochrane Handbook tool, and relevant data were extracted and statistically analyzed by RevMan 5.4.1 software. The quality of the evidence supporting each outcome was evaluated by GRADEpro GDT. RESULTS: Fourteen trials with a total of 1390 participants were included in this study. Compared with conventional treatment (CT) alone, the combination of AA and CT had a significantly greater effect on the visual analog scale at 12 h (MD −0.53, 95% CI −0.77 to −0.30), 24 h (MD −0.59, 95% CI −0.92 to −0.25), 36 h (MD −0.07, 95% CI −0.13 to −0.02), 48 h (MD −0.52, 95% CI −0.97 to −0.08), and 72 h (MD −0.72, 95% CI −1.02 to −0.42), amount of analgesics used (MD −12.35, 95% CI −14.21 to −10.48), Harris Hip Score (MD 6.58, 95% CI 3.60 to 9.56), effective rate (OR 6.37, 95% CI 2.68 to 15.15), and adverse events (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.71). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with CT alone, the combination of AA and CRT had a significantly greater effect on postoperative pain in HF patients. However, trails with a rigorous methodology, including standard protocols for AA and multiethnic subjects, are still needed.