Table 2.
This table shows the characteristics of the included randomised controled trials
| Articles | Year | Country | Type of patients | Total of patients | Type of acupuncture | Type of control group | Studying preventive acupuncture effect | Outcome measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alimi [26] | 2012 | France | Receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer | 60 | Auriculotherapy acupuncture | Sham/placebo acupuncture | No | VAS scores |
| Blom [27] | 1992 | Sweden | Variety of patients | 21 | Traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture | Sham/placebo acupuncture | No | SFR and changes in subjective symptoms |
| Blom [28] | 1996 | Sweden | Receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer | 41 | Traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture | Sham/placebo acupuncture | No | SFR and changes in subjective symptoms |
| Braga [29] | 2011 | Brazil | Receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer | 24 | Traditional Chinese and orthodox Western medicine acupuncture | Oral hygiene/usual care | Yes | SFR and VAS scores |
| Cho [33] | 2008 | South Korea | Receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer | 12 | real acupuncture | Sham/placebo acupuncture | No | SFR and XQ scores |
| List [30] | 1998 | Sweden | Sjögren’s syndrome patients | 21 | Parotid, submandibular and labial glands acupuncture | Oral hygiene/usual care | No | SFR and VAS scores |
| Meng [31] | 2012 | China | Receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer | 86 | Traditional Chinese medicine and biomedicine acupuncture | Oral hygiene/usual care | Yes | SFR and XQ scores |
| Meng [32] | 2012 | China | Receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer | 23 | Real acupuncture | Sham/placebo acupuncture | Yes | SFR and XQ scores |
| Pfister [34] | 2010 | USA | Receiving neck dissection and radiotherapy for cancer | 70 | Standard and customized anatomic points acupuncture | Oral hygiene/usual care | No | Xerostomia Inventory |
| Simcock [35] | 2012 | UK | Receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer | 145 | Bilateral ears, index finger and an additional facial point acupuncture | Oral care sessions | No | SFR. Quality of Life Questionnaire and the Head and Neck subscale |
SFR salivary flow rate, UK United Kingdom, USA United States of America, VAS visual analogue scale, XQ xerostomia questionnaire