Clinical efficacy of acupuncture in treating postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction of colorectal cancer, a systematic review and Meta analysis

To evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction (POGD) of colorectal cancer.

Randomized controlled trials of acupuncture in the treatment of POGD were retrieved from 7 databases including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP Chinese Journal Service Platform, WanFang Data Knowledge Service Platform, and China Biology Medicine disc. The search period ranged from the inception of the databases to November 10^th, 2022. The quality of the included literature was assessed using the Cochrane bias risk assessment tool and the modified Jadad scale. Meta analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.4. Regression analysis and bias risk analysis were performed using Stata 16.0. Trial sequential analysis was conducted using TSA 0.9 software.

A total of 27 randomized controlled trials involving 2629 patients were included. Intervention measures included manual acupuncture, electroacupuncture, transcutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation, warm acupuncture, and thumb-tack needle. The results showed that acupuncture treatment significantly reduced time to tolerance of liquid diet after surgery (MD=-13.70, 95% CI=[-17.94, -9.46], P<0.00001), time to first defecation (MD=-18.20, 95% CI=[-22.62, -13.78], P<0.00001), time to first flatus (MD=-16.31, 95% CI=[-20.32, -12.31], P<0.00001), time to bowel sounds recovery (MD=-11.91, 95% CI=[-14.01, -9.81], P<0.00001), and length of hospital stay (MD=-1.49, 95% CI=[-2.27, -0.70], P=0.0002). Regression analysis indicated that cancer type, study quality and number of acupuncture were the main sources of heterogeneity. Bias analysis suggested potential publication bias risks. Trial sequential analysis indicated that the required number of cases had been met and the conclusion was reliable.

Acupuncture is an effective intervention for promoting gastrointestinal recovery in patients undergoing colorectal cancer surgery. Further large-sample and well-designed clinical trials are still needed to compare different acupuncture techniques.