Table 3.
Characteristics of interventions of included studies.
| Included studies | Design | Interventions | Treatment course (week) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T | C | |||
| Ze YY 2020 (21) | Two-arm | Moxibustion (ST36, BL23, Ashi points, twice/week) | Methotrexate 7.5 mg, once a week; Leflunomide 10 mg, once day | 8 |
| Gong Y 2019 (22) | Two-arm | Moxibustion (ST36, BL23, Ashi points, twice/week) | Methotrexate (2.5 mg/pill) or leflunomide (10 mg/pill) | 8 |
| Wang Y 2021 (23) | Two-arm | Moxibustion (ST36, BL23, Ashi points, twice/week) | Methotrexate 7.5 mg, once a week; Leflunomide 10 mg, once day | 8 |
| Zeng C 2019 (24) | Three-arm | Acupuncture/electro-acupuncture (DU14, BL23, ST36, DU4, BL20, once every 2 days, 30 min once) | Methotrexate 7.5 mg, once a week; Leflunomide 20 mg, once day | 12 |
| Du N 2017 (25) | Two-arm | Electro-acupuncture (BL18, BL23, GB39, ST36, LI4, three times a week, 20 min once) | Leflunomide 10 mg, once day | 12 |
| Fu HB 2021 (26) | Two-arm | Warm needle (RN4, BL18, BL20, BL23, ST36, once a day) | Methotrexate 7.5 mg, once a week; Leflunomide 10 mg, once day | 4 |
| Huang S 2013 (27) | Two-arm | Moxibustion (RN4, ST36, five times a week, 30 min once) | Leflunomide 20 mg, once day | 12 |
| Jiang L 2020 (28) | Two-arm | Acupuncture (ST36, SP9, SP8, SP 10, three times a week, 30 min once) | Methotrexate 10 mg, once a week | 12 |
| Jing SP 2020 (29) | Two-arm | Acupuncture (ST36, DU14, LI4, GB34, SP10, once a day, 30 min once) | Methotrexate 10 mg, once a week | 8 |
| Li Y 2010 (30) | Two-arm | Acupuncture (ST36, BL23, DU14, SP10, LI4 five times a week, 30 min once) | Leflunomide 20 mg, once day | 4 |
| Lu JG 2021 (31) | Two-arm | Auricular needle (adrenal gland, endocrine, small occipital nerve point, subcortex of cardiovascular system, pressing 4 times a day, 20 presses each time) | Methotrexate 10 mg, once a week | 12 |
| Lu YL 2016 (32) | Two-arm | Warm needle (BL18, BL20, BL23, ST36, Ashi points, once a day, 30 min once) | Methotrexate 10 mg, once a week | 4 |
| Ma ZY 2008 (33) | Two-arm | Electro-acupuncture (BL18, BL20, BL23, ST36, LI4, five times a week, 30 min once) | Methotrexate 10 mg, once a week | 4 |
| Ma ZY 2016 (34) | Two-arm | Acupoint catgut embedding (ST36, BL23, once every 15 days) | Leflunomide 20 mg, once day | 12 |
| Mu Y 2020 (35) | Two-arm | Fire needle (Ashi points in three Hand-Yang meridians, twice a week, 30 min once) | Methotrexate 7.5 mg, once a week; Leflunomide 20 mg, once day; acupuncture (SJ5, SJ4, LI5, SI4, BL23, RN4, twice a week, 30 min once) | 12 |
| Song MX 2017 (36) | Two-arm | Warm needle (ST36, LI11, SJ5, Xiyan, BL60, once every 2 days) | Methotrexate 7.5 mg, once a week | 2 |
| Sun F 2011 (37) | Two-arm | Moxibustion (RN4, ST36, five times a week, 30 min once) | Methotrexate 10 mg, once a week | 12 |
| Tu JJ 2017 (38) | Two-arm | Acupoint catgut embedding (ST36, RN4, BL23, once every 15 days) | Leflunomide 20 mg, once day | 12 |
| Wang SQ 2018 (39) | Two-arm | Acupuncture (EX-UE9, once every 2 days, 30 min once) | Leflunomide 10 mg, five times a day for the first 3 days, and once or twice after that | 8 |
| Wang GQ 2017 (40) | Two-arm | Moxibustion (BL20, BL23, RN4, ST36, Ashi points, once a day, 30 min once) | Methotrexate 10 mg, once a week | 4-8 |
| Wang JJ 2021 (41) | Two-arm | Moxibustion (RN4, ST36, five times a week, 30 min once) | Methotrexate 7.5 mg, once a week; Leflunomide 20 mg, once day | 4 |
| Wang YY 2020 (42) | Two-arm | Moxibustion (RN4, ST36, Ashi points, twice a week, 30 min once) | Methotrexate 7.5 mg, once a week; Leflunomide 10 mg, once day | 8 |
| Wu Y 2016 (43) | Two-arm | Warm needle (ST36, DU14, SP6, GB20, Ashi points, once every 2 days, 30 min once) | Methotrexate 10 mg, once a week | 16 |
| Xiao J 2019 (44) | Two-arm | Warm needle (BL23, ST36, GB34, Ashi points, twice a week, 30 min once) | Methotrexate 10 mg, once a week | 24 |
| Xiong Y 2019 (45) | Two-arm | Moxibustion (BL23, ST36, Ashi points, twice a week, 30 min once) | Methotrexate 10 mg, once a week; Leflunomide 10 mg, once day | 12 |
| Yang CH 2016 (46) | Two-arm | Moxibustion (ST36, BL23, BL43, BL13, Ashi points, twice a week) | Methotrexate 7.5 mg, once a week; or Leflunomide 10 mg, once day | 12 |
| Zang XL 2016 (47) | Two-arm | Electro-acupuncture (ST36, KI3, BL18, BL20, Ashi points, 30 min once) | Methotrexate 10 mg, once a week | 12 |
| Zhang M 2021 (48) | Two-arm | Moxibustion (BL23, ST36, SP6, Ashi points, three times a week, 30 min once) | Leflunomide 20 mg, once day | 8 |
| Zhang YT 2019 (49) | Two-arm | Acupuncture (BL18, BL20, BL23, RN4, ST36, once a day, 30 min once) | Methotrexate 7.5 mg, once a week; Leflunomide 10 mg, once day | 4 |
| Zhang YD 2019 (50) | Two-arm | Fire needle (Ex-B5, Ashi points) | Leflunomide 20 mg, once day; acupuncture (Ex-B5, Ashi points) | 4 |
| Zheng HY 2017 (51) | Two-arm | Electro-acupuncture (EX-UE9, once every 2 days, 30 min once) | Leflunomide 10 mg, once day | 6 |
| Zhou MQ 2019 (52) | Two-arm | Moxibustion (BL23, ST36, Ashi points, twice a week) | Methotrexate 7.5 mg, once a week; or Leflunomide 10 mg, once day | 12 |
T, Treatment Group; C, Control Group.