Table 1.
Characteristics of included randomized trials of acupuncture combined with herbal medicine for gouty arthritis.
| Study ID | Year | Gender male/female | Sample size | Age (mean or range, yrs) | Course of disease(mean or range) | Course of treatment, days | Intervention vs. control | Outcomes | Control measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JinRT 2011 | 2011 | I:29/1 C:28/2 | I:30 C:30 | I:47.50 ± 10.29 C:43.37 ± 11.34 | I:17.62 ± 44.24 C:17.92 ± 35.0 | 10 | Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. benzbromarone | Clinical effect, UA, VAS | Benzbromarone: 1 time/day, 50 mg/time |
| liuF 2011 | 2011 | NR | I:34 C:36 | I:40∼60(52) C:40–60(52) | I:2 month-4 years C:2 month-4 years | 5 | Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. acupuncture | Clinical effect | Acupuncture: 1 time/day |
| liYM 2019 | 2019 | I:21/9 C:23/7 | I:30 C:30 | I:37∼72 C:35∼70 | I:3d-10 years C:7d-12 years | 10 | Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. benzbromarone | Clinical effect | Benzbromarone: 1 time/day, 50 mg/time |
| ZhongYH 2021 | 2021 | I:28/2 C:29/1 | I:30 C:30 | I:18–80 (42.33 ± 14.36) C:18–80 (39.30 ± 12.99) | NR | 14 | Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. febuxostat and colchicine | Clinical effect, UA, Scr, BUN, 24 hour urine protein, CRP, TCM score, AEs | Febuxostat: 1 time/day, 40 mg/time; colchicine: 3 times/day, 0.5 mg/time |
| FengPD 2017 | 2017 | I:22/9 C:12/3 | I:31 C:18 | I:22–71 C:31–73 | NR | 14 | Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. dafen capsules | Clinical effect | Dafen capsules: 1 time/day, 75 mg/time |
| ZhangSJ 2010 | 2010 | I:34/0 C:33/0 | I:34 C:33 | 32–71 48 | 7 day-14 years | 3–7 days | Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. diclofenac sodium enteric-coated tablets | Therapeutic effects | Diclofenac sodium enteric-coated tablets: 3 times/day, 25 mg/time |
| LiuZY 2014 | 2014 | NR | I:87 C:87 | I:44.1 C:43.4 | NR | 14 | Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. benzbromarone tablets | Clinicaleffect, CRP, BUA, ESR, VAS, AEs | Benzbromarone: 1 time/day, 50 mg/time |
| GuanFY 2014 | 2014 | I:28/2 C:29/1 | I:30 C:30 | I:31–72 (45.3 ± 6.17) C:28–70 (44.7 ± 6.40) C:1–10 (5.76 ± 3.77)years | I:0.5–11 (5.71 ± 3.72) years | 7 | Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. meloxicam and sodium bicarbonate tablets | Clinical effect, UA, VAS, | Meloxicam tablets: 1 time/day, 15 mg/time; sodium bicarbonate tablets: 3 times/day, 1 g/time |
| XieYF 2015 | 2015 | I:41/4 C:42/2 | I:45 C:44 | I:40–73 C:42–72 | I:1d-14 years C:2d-13 years | 7 | Fire acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. diclofenac sodium enteric solution tablet and allopurinol tablet | Clinical effect, VAS, | Diclofenac sodium enteric-coated tablets: 1 time/day, 75–25 mg/time; allopurinol: 1 time/day, 50 mg/time |
| ChenKW 2016 | 2016 | I:47/31 C:48/30 | I:78 C:78 | I:(54.1 ± 7.7) C:53.9 ± 8.1 | I:(4.1 ± 1.3) years C:(3.9 ± 1.4) years | 7 | Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. diclofenac sodium sustained-release tablets and allopurinol tablets | Clinical effect, adverse triglycerides, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, and AEs | Diclofenac sodium sustained-release tablets: 1 time/day, 75 mg/time; allopurinol: 3 times/day, 100 mg/time |
| JinZ 2012 | 2012 | I:29/1 C:27/3 | I:30 C:30 | I:23–67 C:25–66 | NR | 7 | Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. gout tablets | Clinical effect, VAS, UA, AES | Gout tablets (Chinese patent medicine): 3 times/day, 0.12 g/time |
| liJY 2013 | 2013 | I:28/3 C:28/31 | I:31 C:29 | I:49.67 ± 9.33 C:46.53 ± 10.29 | I:4–11(7.1 ± 3.9)d C:2–10(6.7 ± 3.2)d | 21 | Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. colchicine vs. diclofenac sodium sustained-release tablets | Clinical effect, UA, AEs | Colchicine: 1 time/day, 0.5 g/time; diclofenac sodium sustained-release tablets: 1 times/day, 100 mg/time |
| WangMJ 2015 | 2015 | Male: 35 Female: 25 | I:20 C1:20 C2:20 | NR | 2–13 years | 7 | Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. Acupuncture vs. herbal medicine | Clinical effect, UA | Acupuncture: 1 time/day, herbal medicine 2 times/day |
| ZhuC 2011 | 2011 | I:30 C1:30 C2:30 | I:30 C1:30 C2:30 | I:48.12 ± 11.21 C1:47.44 ± 11.29 C2:50.36 ± 11.07 | I:25.52 ± 9.87 C1:24.16 ± 10.07 C2:26.04 ± 10.03 | 6 | Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. indomethacin vs. acupuncture | Clinical effect, UA, ESR, | Indomethacin: 3 times/day, 25 mg/time; herbal medicine: 3 time/day |
Note: NR: not reported; I: intervention; C: comparison; Y: yes; N: no; AEs: adverse effects; UA: uric acid; VAS: visual analogue scale; Scr: serum creatinine concentration; BUN: blood urea nitrogen; CRP: C-reactive protein; TCM: traditional Chinese medicine; BUA: blood uric acid; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate; Yrs: years; vs: versus.