Efficacy of acupotomy for cerebral palsy: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: In children, cerebral palsy (CP) is one of the most common causes of irreversible neurological sequelae. Acupotomy, a modernized acupuncture form combining the effects of microsurgery and conventional acupuncture, may show specific benefits in the treatment of CP, especially with respect to spasticity. The aim of this review was to evaluate the efficacy of acupotomy for CP. METHODS: Eleven databases were comprehensively searched from their inception dates to November 27, 2018. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or quasi-RCTs evaluating acupotomy as a monotherapy or as adjunctive therapy to rehabilitation treatment for CP were included. The methodological quality of included studies was assessed using the risk of bias tool. The quality of evidence for each main outcome was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach. Meta-analysis was performed, and the pooled data were presented as mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for continuous outcomes and as risk ratio (RR) with 95% CI for dichotomous outcomes. RESULTS: Eight studies involving 530 participants were included. In 1 study, acupotomy was associated with significantly higher total effective rate (TER) compared with Bobath (P < .01). Acupotomy combined with rehabilitation was associated with significantly higher TER (RR 1.24, 95% CI 1.01–1.52, I(2) = 77%) and gross motor function measure score (MD 12.62, 95% CI 11.75–13.49, I(2) = 54%), and significantly lower muscle tone of gastrocnemius measured by the Ashworth scale or the modified Ashworth scale (MD −0.97, 95% CI −1.07 to −0.88, I(2) = 0%) compared with rehabilitation alone. No studies reported the incidence of adverse events. The methodological quality of the included studies and quality of evidence for the main finding were generally low. CONCLUSION: Current evidence shows that acupotomy as a monotherapy or as adjunctive therapy to rehabilitation treatment might have benefits in the treatment of CP. However, due to the small number of studies included, the lack of sample size, poor methodological qualities, and low quality of evidence, the findings of this review should be interpreted with caution. Larger and more rigorous, high-quality RCTs should be performed on this topic. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42018105891.