Summary of findings 3. Moxibustion versus conventional medicines for side effects of chemotherapy or radiotherapy in cancer patients.
| Moxibustion versus conventional medicines for side effects of chemotherapy or radiotherapy in cancer patients | |||||
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Patient or population: patients receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy for cancer treatment Settings: hospital Intervention: moxibustion treatment Comparison: conventional medicinesa | |||||
| Outcomes | Illustrative comparative risks* (95% CI) | Relative effect (95% CI) | No of participants (studies) | Certainty of the evidence (GRADE) | |
| Assumed risk | Corresponding risk | ||||
| conventionalmedicine | Moxibustion treatment | ||||
| The incidence and severity of toxicities: haematological toxicity | 143 per 1000 | 81 per 1000 (21 to 315) |
RR 0.57 (0.15 to 2.20) | 72 (1 study) |
⊕⊕⊝⊝ Lowb |
| QoL (Karnofsky score) | The mean Karnofsky score in the control group was 80.5 | The mean Karnofsky score in the moxibustion group was 87.2 (82.9 to 91.5) | MD 6.70 (2.37 to 11.03) | 82 (1 study) | ⊕⊕⊝⊝ Lowb |
| Patient‐reported symptom: nausea/vomiting | No evidence | ||||
| Patient‐reported symptom: diarrhoea | No evidence | ||||
| Objective outcome measure: WBC count (× 109/L) | The mean WBC counts (× 109/L) in the control group was 5.7 | The mean WBC counts (× 109/L) in the intervention group was 6.10 (5.85 to 6.35) | MD 0.40 (0.15 to 0.65) | 90 (1 study) |
⊕⊕⊝⊝ Lowb |
| Objective outcome measure: haemoglobin (g/L) | The mean haemoglobin (g/L) in the control groups was 118 | The mean haemoglobin (g/L) in the intervention groups was 128.28 (122.51 to 134.05) |
MD 10.28 (4.51 to 16.05) | 235 (2 studies) | ⊕⊕⊝⊝ Lowb |
| Objective outcome measure: platelets (× 109/L) | One study reported that moxibustion was associated with a higher platelets counts compared with ondansetron and batilol (163 participants: MD 31.99 × 109/L; 95% CI 16.33 to 47.65) and another found no difference in platelets counts compared with batilol, leucogen and optional G‐CSF (47 participants: MD 6 × 109/L; 95% CI −4.86 to 16.86) | Not pooled due to high heterogeneity | 210 (2 studies) | ⊕⊕⊝⊝ Lowb | |
| *The basis for the assumed risk (e.g. the median control group risk across studies) is provided in footnotes. The corresponding risk (and its 95% confidence interval) is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI). CI: confidence interval; G‐CSF: granulocyte‐colony stimulating factor; MD: mean difference; QoL: quality of life; RR: risk ratio; WBC: white blood cells. | |||||
| GRADE Working Group grades of evidence High quality: further research is very unlikely to change our confidence in the estimate of effect. Moderate quality: further research is likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and may change the estimate. Low quality: further research is very likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and is likely to change the estimate. Very low quality: we are very uncertain about the estimate. | |||||
aConventional medication: batilol, leucogen, berbamine, G‐CSF and etc. bDowngraded one level due to design limitations (high risk of bias) and one level due to imprecision.