Efficacy and Safety of Snap Needles in the Treatment of Postoperative Hemorrhoidal Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Snap Needles (SN) in the management of Postoperative Hemorrhoidal Pain (POHP).

Patients and methods: A systematic search was conducted in various databases, including EMBASE, Web of Science, PubMed, WanFang database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), and China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), spanning from their inception to August 2023, to identify relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on SN for POHP. The primary outcome measure was the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), while secondary outcomes encompassed the Total Effective Rate (TER), Wound Healing Time (WHT), Pain Relief Time (PRT), Pain Disappearance Time (PDT), and Adverse Events (AEs). The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool was employed to assess the quality of individual studies. A meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.4.1 software.

Results: The meta-analysis included 11 RCTs involving 1188 POHP patients, with an overall assessment of study quality ranging from very low to moderate. The findings revealed that the SN group exhibited significant improvements in treatment outcomes when compared to the control group (CG). These improvements were reflected in reduced VAS scores (mean difference [MD] = -1.10, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -1.31, -0.89, P < 0.05), shorter WHT (MD = -2.55, 95% CI: -3.02, -2.09, P < 0.05), quicker PRT (MD = -7.99, 95% CI: -8.48, -7.49, P < 0.05), fewer AEs (risk ratio [RR] = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.22, 0.67, P < 0.05), improved TER (RR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.27, P < 0.05), and faster PDT (MD = 19.24, 95% CI: 14.17, 24.31, P < 0.05).

Conclusion: The use of SN appears to yield favorable outcomes in the treatment of POHP, and is potentially an alternative therapy to western drug therapy.