Table 2.

Contents of the true-auriculotherapy with relevant justifications and evidence.

Item	Contents	Justifications	Evidence sources
Auricular acupoints	Main acupoints: Kidney (CO10), Bladder (CO9), Urethra (HX3), Central Rim (AT2,3,4i) Adjunct acupoints: Lung (CO14), Spleen (CO13), Subcortex (AT4), Sympathetic Nerve (AH6a), Shenmen (TF4)	(1)Lungs, spleen, kidneys, and bladders are essential to fluid metabolism, and their dysfunction could cause UI (2)Subcortical, sympathetic, and Shenmen may enhance the signaling pathways and increase the cerebral cortex's conditioned excitability to the bladder (3)Dialectical treatment: Different acupoints formulas were selected according to the type of UI	(1)The principle of acupoints selection: acupoints were selected according to the corresponding parts, Zang-Fu dialectics and meridian theory, as well as the theory of Western medicine, acupoints function, and clinical experience (2)Huang, P87, P20527 (3)Wang and Zhong, P95-9630
Auricular acupoints location	(1)Observation by using the standard auricular map and model (2)Palpation by using the auricular detector	Pathological changes of different diseases can cause positive reactions of corresponding auricular points, such as morphological alterations, decreased pain thresholds, and electrical resistance changes	(1)Cheng and Zhou26 (2)Auriculotherapy practice standards23,24
Auriculotherapy modality	(1)Ear plaster and ear massage (2)The Vaccaria seeds' auricular patches with regular and consistent acupressure	(1)Ear-plaster and ear massage are superior to invasive auriculotherapy modalities (such as acupuncture and bloodletting) in terms of convenience and safety (2)Vaccaria seeds: The most common material used for ear plaster because of its appropriate size, smooth surface, hard density, and no side effect	(1)Huang, P10227 (2)Shan, P6432 (3)Auriculotherapy practice standard24
Auricular sticking techniques	(1)This item was applied to intervention providers (2)The “trilogy of auriculotherapy”: auricular massage, auricular acupoints positioning, and auricular acupoints sticking	(1)Auricular massage before compression can trigger a stress response, wake up the brain, activate the whole body function, and enhance the efficacy (2)Auricular massage was convenient, safe, and effective	(1)Wang and Zhu, P92-9429 (2)Feng et al., P45-4633 (3)Shan, P71-7232 (4)Wang and Zhong, P43-4430 (5)Clinical trial41
Auricular acupressure techniques	(1)This item was applied to the patients (2)Point-pressing (pressing auricular acupoints one at a time with fingertip) OR gentle massage (pressing auricular acupoints gently with finger pulp and rotating the seeds clockwise) were adopted (3)Intensity or time of each pressing: achievement of Deqi sensation, generally 1–2 min, appropriate adjustment can be made according to the patient's tolerance	(1)Point-pressing and gentle massage were suitable for deficiency syndrome (2)Deqi: a TCM term used to express the satisfactory treatment effect, and the Deqi of auricular acupoint was frequently manifested in warmness, swelling, pain, or congestion	(1)Shan, P64-6632 (2)Guan et al., P114-11831 (3)Systematic review16
Auriculotherapy dosage	(1)3 to 4 times a day, acupressure was recommended in the morning, afternoon, and before bed. Additional acupressure was suggested while losing control of urine (2)3–7 days per session in winter, and 1–3 days per session in summer (3)Binaural simultaneity (4)Last for 12 weeks	(1)The most common auriculotherapy dosage used in clinical studies (2)Acupressure seeds are routinely stored for 2–4 days, or up to 7 days if properly protected (3)The nature of the progression of UI after prostate surgery	(1)Huang, P10227 (2)Guan et al., P113-11831 (3)Auriculotherapy practice standard25 (4)Systematic review10

UI, urinary incontinence; TCM, traditional Chinese medicine.