Comparison 2. Acupuncture plus baseline treatment versus baseline treatment alone.

Outcome or subgroup title	No. of studies	No. of participants	Statistical method	Effect size
1 Improvement of dependency at the end of treatment	11		Mean Difference (IV, Random, 95% CI)	Subtotals only
1.1 Barthel Index	9	616	Mean Difference (IV, Random, 95% CI)	9.19 [4.34, 14.05]
1.2 Modified Barthel Index	1	60	Mean Difference (IV, Random, 95% CI)	3.44 [0.30, 6.58]
1.3 ADL	1	62	Mean Difference (IV, Random, 95% CI)	7.80 [6.04, 9.56]
2 Improvement of dependency at the end of follow‐up	2		Mean Difference (IV, Random, 95% CI)	Subtotals only
2.1 Barthel index	1	147	Mean Difference (IV, Random, 95% CI)	7.49 [1.79, 13.19]
2.2 ADL	1	71	Mean Difference (IV, Random, 95% CI)	3.83 [2.67, 4.99]
3 Improvement of global neurological deficit at the end of treatment	6		Mean Difference (IV, Random, 95% CI)	Subtotals only
3.1 Modified Edinburgh and Scandinavian Stroke Scale	4	240	Mean Difference (IV, Random, 95% CI)	‐2.39 [‐3.34, ‐1.43]
3.2 Neurological function deficit scale	2	123	Mean Difference (IV, Random, 95% CI)	‐1.02 [‐5.80, 3.76]
4 Improvement of global neurological deficit at the end of follow‐up	2		Mean Difference (IV, Random, 95% CI)	Subtotals only
4.1 Neurological function deficit scale	1	71	Mean Difference (IV, Random, 95% CI)	‐6.15 [‐7.09, ‐5.21]
4.2 NIHSS	1	147	Mean Difference (IV, Random, 95% CI)	‐0.83 [‐1.94, 0.28]
5 Improvement of global neurological deficit at the end of treatment	7	543	Odds Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	3.89 [1.78, 8.49]
6 Improvement of motor function at the end of treatment	5		Mean Difference (IV, Fixed, 95% CI)	Subtotals only
6.1 Upper and lower extremities motor function(Fugl‐Meyer Assessment)	4	245	Mean Difference (IV, Fixed, 95% CI)	6.16 [4.20, 8.11]
6.2 General motor function (Motor assessment scale)	1	60	Mean Difference (IV, Fixed, 95% CI)	4.53 [2.99, 6.07]
7 Improvment of general motor function at the end of follow‐up (Fugl‐Meyer Assessment)	1		Mean Difference (IV, Fixed, 95% CI)	Subtotals only
8 Improvement of motor function at the end of treatment (Fugl‐Meyer Assessment)	2	125	Odds Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	2.41 [0.98, 5.96]
9 Improvement of cognitive function at the end of treatment	5		Mean Difference (IV, Random, 95% CI)	Subtotals only
9.1 MMSE	5	278	Mean Difference (IV, Random, 95% CI)	2.54 [0.03, 5.05]
9.2 MoCA	2	120	Mean Difference (IV, Random, 95% CI)	1.34 [0.76, 1.92]
9.3 HDS‐R	1	46	Mean Difference (IV, Random, 95% CI)	1.26 [0.29, 2.23]
10 Improvment of cognitive function at the end of follow‐up (MMSE)	1	71	Mean Difference (IV, Fixed, 95% CI)	3.47 [2.43, 4.51]
11 Improvement of cognitive function at the end of treatment	3		Odds Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	Subtotals only
11.1 MMSE	3	166	Odds Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	3.82 [1.89, 7.72]
11.2 HDS‐R	1	46	Odds Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	4.02 [1.12, 14.46]
12 Improvement of depression at the end of treatment	6		Mean Difference (IV, Fixed, 95% CI)	Subtotals only
12.1 HAMD	6	552	Mean Difference (IV, Fixed, 95% CI)	‐2.58 [‐3.28, ‐1.87]
12.2 Symptoms of TCM depression scale	1	60	Mean Difference (IV, Fixed, 95% CI)	‐1.57 [‐2.96, ‐0.18]
13 Improvement of depression at the end of treatment (HAMD)	4	342	Odds Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	2.03 [1.10, 3.72]
14 Improvement of swallowing function at the end of treatment (Water drinking test)	2	200	Mean Difference (IV, Random, 95% CI)	‐1.11 [‐2.08, ‐0.14]
15 Improvement of swallowing function at the end of treatment (Water drinking test)	1	60	Odds Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	95.29 [10.93, 830.86]
16 Improvement of pain at the end of treatment (Visual Analogue Scale)	2	118	Mean Difference (IV, Fixed, 95% CI)	‐2.88 [‐3.68, ‐2.09]
17 Improvement of sleep quality at the end of treatment (Rhone Planck Sleepiness Scale)	1	60	Mean Difference (IV, Fixed, 95% CI)	‐1.09 [‐2.37, 0.19]
18 Improvement of spasticity at the end of treatment (Modified Ashworth Spasticity Rating Scale)	1	60	Mean Difference (IV, Fixed, 95% CI)	‐0.4 [‐0.64, ‐0.16]
19 Improvement of quality of life at the end of treatment (MOS SF‐36)	1	71	Mean Difference (IV, Fixed, 95% CI)	2.73 [‐0.54, 6.00]