Table 1.
Characteristics of included studies.
| Study | Study location | Sample size (male/female) | Mean age (SD) | Interventions group | Control group | Treatment period | Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guo et al. (2007) [23] | Jiangsu, China | T: 14/19 C: 12/20 |
T: 36.01 + 6.74 C: 35.12 + 7.30 |
Moxibustion | Drug (fluoxetine) | T: once a day for 30 days, 30 min C: once a day for 30 days |
CE |
| Chen et al. (2011) [24] | Guangdong, China | T: 16/14 C: 17/13 |
T: 35.12 ± 4.17 C: 35.91 ± 3.25 |
Moxibustion | Drug (vitamin C + vitamin E + trivitamins B tablets) | T: once a day for 28 days, 10–20 min C: three times a day for 28 days |
CE |
| Lan (2011) [25] | Guizhou, China | T: 16/14 C: 15/15 |
T: 30.70 + 8.801 C: 30.80 + 11.370 |
Moxibustion | Acupuncture | T: once a day, ten days per period, one days' break between two periods, two periods in total, 20 min C: once a day, ten days per period, one days' break between two periods, two periods in total, 20 min |
CE, FAI, AEs |
| Zou (2011) [26] | Jiangxi, China | T: 15/15 C: 13/15 |
T: 34.67 ± 3.24 C: 35.72 ± 3.76 |
Moxibustion | Drug (fluoxetine) | T: once a day, eight days per period, three days' break between two periods, three periods in total, 15 min C: once a day for 30 days |
CE |
| Wang et al. (2013) [27] | Anhui, China | T: 12/28 C: 13/27 |
T: 39 ± 6 C: 38 ± 8 |
Thunder-fire moxibustion | Drug (fluoxetine) | T: once a day, ten days per period, two days' break between two periods, two periods in total C: once a day for 20 days |
CE, AEs |
| Xiao et al. (2014) [28] | Guizhou, China | T: 20/21 C: 19/20 |
T: 40.2 ± 8.2 C: 40.6 ± 8.5 |
Moxibustion | Drug (vitamin B1 + vitamin B6 + oryzanol + paroxetine) | T: once a day, ten days per period, three days' break between two periods, three periods in total, 15 min C: NR |
CE, FS-14, AEs |
| Zhao (2014) [29] | Heilongjiang, China | T: 10/20 C: 9/21 |
T: 40.80 ± 6.599 C: 41.07 ± 5.783 |
Ginger-partitioned moxibustion | Acupuncture | T: once a day, five times per week for 4 weeks, 50 min C: once a day, five times per week for 4 weeks, 30 min |
CE, FS-14 |
| Zheng et al. (2014) [30] | Guangdong, China | T: 23/20 C: 21/22 |
T: 43.5 ± 13.2 C: 42.6 ± 12.9 |
Moxibustion | Acupuncture | T: once a day, seven days per period, three days' break between two periods, three periods in total C: once a day, seven days per period, three days' break between two periods, three periods in total, 30 min |
CE, AEs |
| Shi (2015) [31] | Guangdong, China | T: 8/22 C: 9/20 |
T: 39.00 ± 12.54 C: 41.62 ± 11.70 |
Fu-Yang moxibustion | Acupuncture | T: twice a week for six weeks C: once a day, three times per week for six weeks |
CE, FS-14, AEs |
| Tian et al. (2015) [32] | Gansu, China | T: 24/12 C: 16/20 |
T: 42 ± 9 C: 42 ± 10 |
Gaohuang (BL43) moxibustion | Acupuncture | T: once a day, ten days per period, two days' break between two periods, three periods in total C: once a day, ten days per period, two days' break between two periods, three periods in total, 30 min |
CE, FAI, AEs |
| Hou et al. (2017) [33] | Shandong, China | T: 16/12 C: 14/12 |
T: 43.07 ± 9.31 C: 45.62 ± 9.92 |
Governor moxibustion | Acupuncture | T: twice a month for 3 months, 6 hours C: once a day, four times per week for 3 months, 30 min |
CE, FS-14, AEs |
| Sai (2018) [34] | Shandong, China | T: 17/15 C: 13/17 |
T: 38.97 ± 6.98 C: 37.73 ± 6.26 |
Viscera moxibustion | Acupuncture | T: once a week for 8 weeks, 2 hours C: once a day, three times per week for 8 weeks, 30 min |
CE |
| Luo et al. (2019) [35] | Guangdong, China | T: 16/14 C: 15/15 |
T: 43 ± 4 C: 42 ± 3 |
Fu-Yang moxibustion | Acupuncture | T: once every two days for 60 days C: once every two days for 60 days, 30 min |
CE, FS-14, AEs |
| Xu et al. (2019) [36] | Henan, China | T: 29/18 C: 27/20 |
T: 41.5 ± 5.3 C: 42.5 ± 3.6 |
Governor moxibustion | Acupuncture | T: twice a month for 3 months, 6 hours C: once a day, four times per week for 3 months, 30 min |
CE, FS-14 |
| Wang et al. (2020) [37] | Hunan, China | T: 13/27 C: 15/25 |
T: 43.00 ± 1.03 C: 43.00 ± 1.17 |
Panlong moxibustion | Acupuncture | T: once a week for 3 weeks, 2 hours C: once a day, five times per week for 3 weeks, 30 min |
CE, FS-14, FAI |
AEs, adverse events; C, control group; CE, clinical efficacy; FAI, fatigue assessment instrument; FS-14, fatigue scale-14; NR: not reported; T, therapy group.