Table 4.
Evidences quality of SRs/MAs.
| Reviews | Interventions | Outcomes | Limitations | Inconsistency | Indirectness | Imprecision | Publication bias | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Li et al. [9] | AA versus CM | PSQI score | −1 | −1 | 0 | 0 | −1 | L |
| Effective rate | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | CL | ||
| Yang et al. [10] | AA versus CM | Effective rate | −1 | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | L |
| Tan et al. [11] | AA versus placebo | PSQI score | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | M |
| Sleep onset latency | −1 | −1 | 0 | −1 | −1 | CL | ||
| Number of awakenings | −1 | 0 | 0 | −1 | −1 | CL | ||
| Lan et al. [12] | AA versus placebo | Sleep time | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | L |
| Sleep efficiency | −1 | 0 | 0 | −1 | −1 | CL | ||
| PSQI score | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | M | ||
| Number of awakenings | −1 | −1 | 0 | −1 | −1 | CL | ||
| Sleep onset latency | −1 | 0 | 0 | −1 | −1 | CL | ||
| AA versus CM | Effective rate | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | M | |
| Adverse effects | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | M | ||
| Yeung et al. [13] | AA versus placebo | PSQI score | −1 | −1 | 0 | −1 | −1 | CL |
| Lee et al. [14] | AA versus placebo | Sleep efficiency | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | H |
| Chen et al. [15] | AA versus CM | Sleep efficiency | −1 | 0 | 0 | −1 | −1 | CL |
| Sleep time | −1 | −1 | 0 | −1 | −1 | CL |
−1: downgrade; 0: not downgrade; CL: critically low; L: low; M: moderate; H: high; AA: auricular acupuncture; CM: conventional medication; PSQI: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index.