Table 1.
Characteristics of the included trials in a quantitative study of the efficacy and safety of acupuncture ST25 for functional constipation.
| Study | Location | Baseline data comparable | Sample size | Average age (years) | Course of treatment (weeks) | Adverse events | Disease duration(years) | Interventions | EA | Main outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E | C | E | C | E | C | E | C | E | C | ||||||
| Zhang, 2006 [31] | China | Yes | 30 | 30 | 65 | 67 | 2 | Pain (2) | 0 | 13.4 (8.62) | 11.00 (5.59) | Deep needling | Lactulose | Sparse wave | CCS, CTT, CCS6m, AE |
|
| |||||||||||||||
| Chen, 2010 [32] | China | Yes | 33/19 | 25 | 43.56 (18.597)/44.14 (16.571) | 47.61 (18.901) | 4 | 0 | Diarrhea (3) | 10.05 (8.95)/9.24 (9.41) | 12.56 (11.46) | Deep needling/shallow needling | Lactulose | High-frequency dilatational wave | CCS, CTT, TFD, FSD6m, AE, RER |
|
| |||||||||||||||
| Yang and Liu, 2010 [33] | China | Yes | 38/21 | 19 | 53.1/57 | 50.1 | 4 | NR | NR | 12.67/12.71 | 10.62 | Deep needling/shallow needling | Lactulose | Low-frequency dilatational wave | CCS, FSD |
|
| |||||||||||||||
| Lin, 2010 [34] | China | Yes | 25/25 | 25 | 20.68 (2.27)/21.44 (2.10) | 21.24 (1.45) | 4 | Pain (2) | Abdominal distension (5) | 3.36 (2.20)/4.32 (1.77) | 4.44 (2.10) | Deep needling/shallow needling | Lactulose | Low-frequency dilatational wave | CCS, CTT, TFD, AE |
|
| |||||||||||||||
| Peng et al., 2010 [35] | China | Yes | 59/28 | 21 | 53.10/50.14 | 59.24 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10.93/9.65 | 7.78 | Deep needling/shallow needling | Lactulose | Low-frequency dilatational wave | CCS, FSD, CTT, AE |
|
| |||||||||||||||
| Wan, 2010 [36] | China | Yes | 22/19 | 21 | 23.74 (7.02)/22.03 (5.05) | 25.18 (8.78) | 4 | 0 | Diarrhea (1) | NR | NR | Deep needling/shallow needling | Lactulose | Low-frequency dilatational wave | CCS, CCS6m, AE |
|
| |||||||||||||||
| Liu et al., 2011 [37] | China | Yes | 199/106 | 125 | NR | NR | 4 | 0 | 0 | NR | NR | Deep needling/shallow needling | Lactulose | Low-frequency dilatational wave | CCS, FSD, FSD6m, AE |
|
| |||||||||||||||
| Wang, 2013 [38] | China | Yes | 63/31 | 29 | 53.29 (13.45)/58.85 (12.04) | 51.61 (16.61) | 4 | Pain (2) | Abdominal pain, diarrhea, and dizziness (1) | 10.4 (10.7)/8.15 (10.25) | 9.83 (8.82) | Deep needling/shallow needling | Lactulose | Low-frequency dilatational wave | CCS, AE |
|
| |||||||||||||||
| Wu et al., 2014 [39] | China | Yes | 228/112 | 115 | 45.88 (16.85)/46.25 (16.81) | 44.12 (17.48) | 4 | Pain, fatigue, or subcutaneous hemorrhage (11) | Diarrhea or abdominal discomfort (10) | 9.24 (8.32)/9.10 (8.38) | 9.25 (9.18) | Deep needling/shallow needling | Lactulose | Low-frequency dilatational wave | CCS, FSD, AE |
|
| |||||||||||||||
| Liao, 2018 [40] | China | Yes | 50 | 50 | 64.98 (3.51) | 65.36 (3.45) | 2 | Headache (1), dizziness (1), gastrointestinal discomfort (2) | Headache (3), dizziness (4), gastrointestinal discomfort (3) | NR | NR | Deep needling | Lactulose | Sparse wave | CCS, CTT, CCS6m, AE |
E: experimental group (deep needling therapy or shallow needling therapy), C: control group (lactulose therapy), NR: no report, RCT: randomized controlled trial, EA: electroacupuncture, CCS: Cleveland Constipation Score, FSD: weekly frequency of spontaneous defecation, CTT: Colonic Transit Time, TFD: time of first defecation after treatment, CCS6m: Cleveland Constipation Score of 6 months after treatment, FSD6m: weekly frequency of spontaneous defecation of 6 months after treatment, RER: recurrence rate, AE: adverse event.