Acupuncture Treatment for Chronic Pelvic Pain in Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

AIM OF THE STUDY: This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to evaluate the current evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) related to the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture treatment (AT), including electroacupuncture or thread-embedding therapy in combination with modern technology, for chronic pelvic pain (CPP) in women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We searched 12 electronic databases up to December 2017. All randomized controlled trials evaluating the effect of AT for CPP were considered. RESULTS: Four RCTs with 474 participants were included. The methodological quality of included studies was generally low. The results of meta-analysis of two studies showed that AT combined with conventional treatment (CT) was associated with significantly reduced CPP, based on the total effectiveness rate (n=277, mean difference = 1.29, confidence interval = 1.13 to 1.47, P=0.0001, I(2) = 0%). CONCLUSIONS: This review suggests the potential of AT combined with CT compared to CT alone for treating female CPP. However, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that AT can be recommended as a complementary and alternative (CAM) treatment for women with CPP. To draw a firm conclusion, future studies should require not only lager, more rigorously designed RCTs but also research on different AT types. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION NUMBER: This study is registered with PROSPERO 2018 (CRD42018088627).