Efficacy and safety of acupoint application in the treatment of ulcerative colitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of acupoint application in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) is still controversial. The purpose of this study is to systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of acupoint application in the treatment of ulcerative colitis. METHODS: The databases of China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Biology Medicine (CBM), VIP, Wanfang, Embase, PubMed, the Cochrane Library and Web of Science were searched. The time limit was from the establishment of the database to July 2022. The published randomized controlled trials of acupoint application in the treatment of UC were analyzed by meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis. RESULTS: A total of 13 studies were included, with a total sample size of 878 cases. Compared with conventional western medicine, acupoint application can effectively improve the effective rates of clinical comprehensive (risk ratio [RR] 1.13, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06–1.20, P = .0003), syndrome (RR 1.13, 95% CI 1.03–1.24, P = .009), and interleukin-4 (IL-4) (mean differences 2.62, 95% CI 1.96–3.28, P < .00001) in the treatment of UC, and reduce interferon-γ (mean differences −5.38, 95% CI −6.81 to −3.94, P < .00001). The effective rates of colonoscopy (RR 0.94, 95% CI 0.84–1.05, P = .25), pathological examination (RR 1.04, 95% CI 0.90–1.20, P = .60) and rate of adverse reaction (RR 0.55, 95% CI 0.25–1.21, P = .14) were the same. Trial sequential analysis indicated that the benefits of effective rates of clinical comprehensive and syndrome, IL-4, and interferon-γ were conclusive. Harbord regression showed no publication bias (P = .98). The evaluation of evidence quality suggested that the evidence quality of effective rates of clinical comprehensive and syndrome was moderate and the evidence quality of other indicators was low or very low. CONCLUSION: Acupoint application is a safe and effective method for the treatment of UC, and has the prospect of clinical application.