Table 1.
Characteristics of included studies.
| Reference | Diagnostic Criteria | Drop-Out Rate | Sample Size (T) | Sample Size (C) | Sex (T, M/F) | Sex (C, M/F) | Age (T) | Age (C) | Intervention (T) | Sham Group | Intervention (C) | Frequency and Duration | Primary Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [43] | CP with GESELL(DQ) < 75 | - | 11 | 9 | 8/3 | 6/3 | 33.6 m/o | 32.8 m/o | Body/Scalp acupuncture | No | PT, OT | Three times a week for 3 months | GESELL |
| [44] | Spastic CP (2015 RGCPC) | - | 31 | 31 | 18/13 | 17/14 | 20 ± 3 m/o | 21 ± 2 m/o | Body acupuncture | No | PT, electronic biofeedback, ST, massage | Five times a week for 45 days | GESELL, GMFM-88, s-EMG |
| [45] | 2006 GCPC | - | 60 | 60 | 38/22 | 36/24 | 2.9 ± 1.0 y/o | 2.8 ± 1.0 y/o | Body acupuncture | No | OT | Once a day for consecutive 20 days with a total of 3 courses, within courses with 30 days pause | GMFM, ADL, effective rate |
| [46] | 2015 RGCPC | - | 99 | 85 | 74/25 | 59/26 | 27 ± 18 m/o | 27 ± 17 m/o | Scalp acupuncture | No | PT, swallowing and ST, massage | Three times a week for consecutive ten times with a total of 3 courses, within courses for 15 days pause | VEEG, effective rate |
| [47] | 2015 RGCPC | - | 68 | 68 | 41/27 | 43/25 | 2.3 ± 1.2 y/o | 2.1 ± 1.3 y/o | Body acupuncture | No | ST | Five times a week for 3 months | S-SL |
| [48] | Spastic CP (2015 RGCPC) | - | 65 | 65 | 36/29 | 38/27 | 2.4 ± 1.4 y/o | 2.2 ± 1.5 y/o | Body acupuncture | No | PT, OT, massage | Five times a week for 3 months | GMFM-88, MAS |
| [49] | Meet CP diagnosis | - | 30 | 30 | 15/15 | 24/6 | 28.7 ± 13.8 m/o | 35.0 ± 15.1 m/o | Body acupuncture | No | PT | Body acupoint for seven times a week for 3 months; scalp acupoint once every other day for 3 months | Effective rate |
| [50] | 2006 GCPC | - | 40 | 40 | 22/18 | 25/15 | 4 ± 1 y/o | 4 ± 1 y/o | Body acupuncture | No | PT, Intelligence motor training | Seven times a week for 20 times as a course for 3 courses, within courses for 3–5 days pause | GMFM-88, MAS |
| [51] | 2006 GCPC | - | 100 | 100 | 69/31 | 83/17 | 1~3 y/o:66; 3~7 y/o:34 | 1~3 y/o:72; 3~7 y/o:28 | Body acupuncture | No | PT, OT, ST | Once every other day for consecutive 20 days with a total of 3 courses, within courses for 15 days pause | GMFM, skull CT/MRI |
| [52] | 2006 GCPC | - | 60 | 60 | 37/23 | 39/21 | 3.26 ± 2.05 y/o | 3.51 ± 1.83 y/o | Body acupuncture | No | PT, OT, ST | Seven times a week for 3 months | MAS, GMFM, effective rate |
| [53] | Spastic CP diagnosis (2004 GCPC) | - | 32 | 30 | 20/12 | 17/13 | 22.3 ± 11.6 m/o | 24.6 ± 13.5 m/o | Body acupuncture | Yes | PT, Hyperbaric oxygen therapy | Seven times a week for 60 times | MAS, GMFM |
| [54] | 1988 GCPC | - | 40 | 40 | 21/19 | 20/20 | 5.15 ± 2.78 y/o | 6.04 ± 2.37 y/o | Scalp acupuncture | No | PT | Five times a week for 30 days as a course for 3 courses | GMFM, WeeFIM, effective rate |
| [23] | Spastic CP with type of hemiplegia (2015 RGCPC) | 5 (8.6%) | 28 | 30 | 16/12 | 17/13 | 9.89 ± 2.07 y/o | 9.37 ± 2.51 y/o | Body acupuncture | Yes | OT | Five days per week for the first two weeks, three days per week for the next two weeks, two days per week for another two weeks, and one day per week for the last two weeks. | NCCPC-R, Squeeze dynamometry, MAS, MMT |
| [55] | Spastic type | - | 39 | 39 | 23/16 | 23/16 | 37 ± 2 m/o | 39 ± 2 m/o | Body acupuncture | No | MyoTrac biostimulation therapy | Five times a week for 6 months | MAS, AROM |
| [56] | Spastic CP (2015 RGCPC) | - | 30 | 30 | 18/12 | 16/14 | 2.7 ± 0.6 y/o | 2.5 ± 0.7 y/o | Scalp acupuncture | No | PT | Five times a week for 6 months | GMFM-88, BBS |
| [57] | GCPC | - | 30 | 30 | 16/14 | 19/11 | 4.3 y/o | 4.1 y/o | Scalp acupuncture | No | PT, balance training | Seven times a week for 90 times | BBS, ADL |
| [58] | GCPC | - | 10 | 10 | 4/6 | 5/5 | 12.44 ± 6.224 y/o | 11.02 ± 7.985 | Body/Scalp acupuncture | No | PT | Eight weeks | GMFM |
| [59] | Spastic type | - | 32 | 31 | 21/11 | 23/8 | 78 ± 32.04 m/o | 81.6 ± 37.8 m/o | Scalp acupuncture | No | PT | Six times a week for 60 times | ADL, effective rate |
| [60] | GCPC | - | 33 | 33 | 22/11 | 21/12 | 4.8 ± 4.0 y/o | 6.1 ± 2.89 y/o | Body/Scalp acupuncture | No | PT, massage | Three times a week for 3 months | GMFM |
| [61] | Spastic CP(2006 GCPC) | - | 31 | 30 | 19/12 | 18/12 | 32.5 ± 1.2 m/o | 33.2 ± 1.4 m/o | Scalp acupuncture | No | PT | Five times a week for consecutive 30 days with a total of 3 courses | MAS, GMFM, effective rate |
Abbreviations: Rehabilitation Guidelines for Cerebral Palsy in China (RGCPC), Guidelines for Cerebral Palsy in China (GCPC), speech training (ST), non-communicating children’s pain checklist-revised (NCCPC-R), Modified Ashworth Scales (MAS), manual muscle testing (MMT), Gesell developmental diagnostic scale (GESELL), active range of movement (AROM), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), gross motor function measure (GMFM), surface electromyography (sEMG), sign–significate relations for language comprehension and language expression (S-SL), Functional Independence Measure (WeeFIM).