The effects of acupuncture and related techniques on patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: One new type of acupuncture and related techniques (ACNRT) is increasingly used by rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients to control their disease and improve their quality of life. However, the efficacy of using ACNRT in combination with western medicine (WM) for this purpose remains unknown.

Methods: Randomized controlled trials of ACNRT and WM treatments for RA from January 1, 2000, to January 31, 2021, were searched for in the databases PubMed, Embase, Medline, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, as well as in three Chinese databases: China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data, and Airiti Library. The primary outcomes consisted of inflammatory markers including C reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and rheumatoid factor. The secondary outcomes were clinical characteristics including pain visual analog scale (VAS) score, Disease Activity Score (DAS-28), swollen joints count (SJC), tender joints count (TJC), morning stiffness, and the results of a health assessment questionnaire. The three types of ACNRT used in the focal trials were acupuncture, moxibustion, and electro-acupuncture. Two qualified researchers extracted data from these trials' results and independently assessed their risk of bias. Statistical analyses were performed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis V3 software.

Results: A total of 12 RCTs with 874 patients met the inclusion criteria. As compared with the patients who received WM treatment alone, those who were given integrated ACNRT/WM treatment showed greater reductions in CRP (weighted mean difference [WMD]: -6.299; 95% CI: -9.082 to -3.517), ESR (WMD: -6.563; 95% CI: -8.604 to -4.522), VAS (WMD: -1.089; 95% CI: -1.575 to -0.602), DAS-28 (WMD: -0.633; 95% CI: -1.006 to -0.259), SJC (WMD: -1.921; 95% CI: -3.635 to -0.207), and TJC (WMD: -1.491; 95% CI: -2.941 to -0.042).

Conclusion: This meta-analysis of RA provides reliable evidence in favor of ACNRT plus WM. However, longer term, high-quality, repeatable, multicenter randomized controlled trials with larger sample sizes are needed.