Table 5.
The information about RCTs and NRSIs.
| Study ID | Study type | Participants | Count (intervention/control) | Intervention | Control | Outcome | effect size (intervention vs. control) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zhao H (2022)40 | RCT | Discharged COVID-19 patients | 27/28 | Mild moxibustion + conventional intervention | Conventional intervention | TCM syndrome score (±s) | before treatment: 223.59±67.65 vs. 231.10±70.44, P>0.05; treatment after 2 weeks: 70.04±33.83 vs. 230.71±70.36, P<0.05; return visit: 69.63±33.26 vs. 227.60±68.89, P<0.05 |
| Self-rating anxiety score (±s) | before treatment: 39.93±9.94 vs. 40.03±9.96, P>0.05; treatment after 2 weeks: 34.81±8.12 vs. 39.79±9.77, P<0.05; return visit: 33.89±8.10 vs. 39.21±9.44, P<0.05 | ||||||
| Depression self-assessment score (±s) | before treatment: 37.67±9.72 vs. 37.79±9.67, P>0.05; treatment after 2 weeks: 36.22±9.52 vs. 37.46±9.52, P>0.05; return visit: 33.44±9.74 vs. 37.32±9.51, P<0.05 | ||||||
| Zhu J (2022)41 | RCT | COVID-19 patients | 31/33 | Xizhiyanbing moxibustion + conventional management | Conventional discharged management | Positive rate of IgG and IgM (%) | IgG: 96.8% vs. 75.8%, P<0.05; IgM: 9.7% vs. 39.4%, P<0.05 |
| Nucleic acid positive rate (%) | blood: 3.2% vs. 27.3%, P<0.05; nasopharyngeal swab: 16.1% vs. 51.5%, P<0.05; anal swab: 6.5% vs. 33.3%, P<0.05 | ||||||
| Li C (2022)42 | RCT | Children with COVID-19 (7–17 years old) | 30/30 | Thunder fire moxibustion + Qingfeipaidu decoction | Qingfeipaidu decoction | Total clinical effective rate (%) | 83.33% vs. 60.00%, P<0.05 |
| TCM syndrome score (±s) | before treatment: 21.37±3.65 vs. 20.89 ±3.53, P>0.05; after treatment: 7.79 ±2.31 vs. 11.47±3.26, P<0.01 | ||||||
| Disappearance rate of symptom (%) | fever: 100.00% vs. 83.33%, P>0.05; cough and expectoration: 83.33% vs. 40.00%, P<0.01 | ||||||
| Ig level (±s, g/L) | before treatment: IgG: 11.15±2.28 vs. 11.23±2.87, IgA: 1.70 ±0.64 vs. 1.72 ±0.86, IgM: 1.14 ±0.31 vs. 1.11 ±0.32, P>0.05; after treatment: IgG: 13.71±2.04 vs. 12.57±2.13, IgA: 2.40 ±0.47 vs. 2.14 ±0.52, IgM: 1.62 ±0.33 vs. 1.39 ±0.36, P<0.05 | ||||||
| Luo Z (2022)43 | RCT | COVID-19 convalescents | 25/25 | Thumb-tack needle | Sham thumb-tack needle | TCM syndrome score [M(IQR)] | before treatment: 30(5.5) vs. 29(6.0), P>0.05; after treatment: 7(10.0) vs. 13(4.0), P<0.05 |
| Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA) score (±s) | before treatment: 14.49±5.96 vs. 15.01±4.43, P>0.05; after treatment: 4.54±3.60 vs. 10.62±4.17, P<0.05 | ||||||
| Hamilton depression scale (HAMD) score (±s) | before treatment: 12.36±4.17 vs. 13.02±5.27, P>0.05; after treatment: 3.85±4.26 vs. 9.48±3.08, P<0.05 | ||||||
| Pulmonary function (±s) | before treatment: FVC/L: 2.44±0.26 vs. 2.57±0.29, FEV1/L: 1.88±0.33 vs. 1.90±0.35, PEF/L·s–1: 4.35±0.47 vs. 4.28±0.43, P>0.05; after treatment: FVC/L: 3.27±0.32 vs. 2.84±0.28, FEV1/L: 2.64±0.27 vs. 2.21±0.23, PEF/L·s–1: 6.15±0.36 vs. 5.33±0.31, P<0.05 | ||||||
| Lung shadow area [M(IQR), mm2] | before treatment: 245.60(154.20) vs. 268.00(214.20), P>0.05; after treatment: 24.10(56.24) vs. 80.30(156.27), P<0.05 | ||||||
| Zeng L (2021)44 | RCT | COVID-19 close contacts | 102/62 | Moxibustion combined with Daiwenjiu plaster | Conventional observation | Self-reporting questionnaire 20 (SRQ-20) scores (±s) | before treatment: 4.61±4.23 vs. 6.16±4.91, P>0.05; after treatment: 3.85±3.83 vs. 5.60±4.54, P<0.05; follow-up: 2.91±3.53 vs. 5.24±4.63, P<0.01 |
| Self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) scores (±s) | before treatment: 44.01±9.33 vs. 45.12±10.35, P>0.05; after treatment: 42.72±7.53 vs. 43.89±10.06, P>0.05; follow-up: 39.95±7.44 vs. 43.06±12.23, P>0.05 | ||||||
| Liu L (2020)45 | RCT | COVID-19 patients | 45/50 | Moxibustion + western medicine | Routine treatment of western medicine | Clinical symptom scores (±s) | before treatment: cough: 1.76±0.48 vs. 1.74±0.53, chest tightness: 1.53±0.59 vs. 1.54±0.54, wheezing; 1.47±0.94 vs. 1.46±0.76, shortness of breath: 1.44±1.06 vs. 1.48±0.50, P>0.05; after treatment: cough: 0.38±0.53 vs. 1.26±0.69, chest tightness: 0.67±0.52 vs. 1.10±0.72, wheezing; 0.29±0.59 vs. 0.76±0.89, shortness of breath: 0.71±0.66 vs. 0.78±0.51, P<0.05 |
| Clinical symptom remission rates (±s) | cough: 79.63±29.49 vs. 29.00±36.58, P<0.05; chest tightness: 53.33±40.45 vs. 24.29±49.96, P<0.05; wheezing: 85.47±26.81 vs. 53.33±45.00, P<0.05; shortness of breath: 49.05±35.23 vs. 43.00±40.41, P>0.05 | ||||||
| Peripheral blood inflammatory index (Difference before and after treatment, ±s) | WBC Count/×109·L–1: 2.64±3.08 vs. 2.14±3.05, P>0.05; CRP/mg·L–1: −25.60±27.07 vs. −14.74±43.42, P>0.05; IL-6/pg·mL–1: −23.47±25.10 vs. −3.79±27.11, P<0.05 | ||||||
| Absolute number of T lymphocyte subsets (Difference before and after treatment, ±s, /μL) | CD3+: 410.67±533.87 vs. 4.08±381.24, P<0.05; CD4+: 290.22±321.32 vs. −4.94±249.84, P<0.05; CD8+: 129.96±233.44 vs. 20.42±146.56, P<0.05 | ||||||
| Dou M (2021)46 | Self-controlled trial | COVID-19 patients | 16/16 | Fiery dragon cupping comprehensive moxibustion | NA | Total clinical effective rate (%) | cough: 87%; shortness of breath: 85% |
| Tao D (2021)47 | Non- randomized clinical trial | COVID-19 convalescents | 31/31 | Moxibustion + oral Chinese medicine | Oral Chinese medicine | TCM syndrome score (±s) | before treatment: 10.10±2.88 vs. 9.71±2.64, P>0.05; after treatment: 2.94±1.79 vs. 4.03±2.01, P<0.05 |
| Total clinical effective rate (%) | 96.77% vs. 80.65%, P<0.05 | ||||||
| 6 minute walk distance, 6MWD (±s, m) | before treatment: 440.32±16.52 vs. 445.67±19.86, P>0.05; after treatment: 496.40±19.55 vs. 486.33±18.80, P<0.05 | ||||||
| Pulse oxygen saturation (SpO2) level (±s, %) | before treatment: 88.89±2.33 vs. 88.48±2.28, P>0.05; after treatment: 94.97±2.17 vs. 93.42±2.26, P<0.05 | ||||||
| St. George's respiratory questionnaire (SGRQ) scores (±s) | before treatment: 48.82±4.38 vs. 49.37±3.86, P>0.05; after treatment: 42.11±5.82 vs. 45.73±6.54, P<0.05 | ||||||
| Dong S (2020)48 | Self-controlled trial | COVID-19 patients with diarrhea | 36/36 | Moxibustion | NA | Syndrome scores of diarrhea (±s) | 1.26± 0.15 vs. 4.87±0.41, P<0.05 |
| Total clinical effective rate (%) | 97.2% | ||||||
| Cure rate (%) | 69.4% | ||||||
| Nucleic acid negative conversion ratio (%) | 86.1% | ||||||
| Luo Z (2022)49 | Self-controlled trial | COVID-19 convalescents | 33/33 | Filiform-fire needle | NA | TCM syndrome score [M(IQR)] | 25.0(4.0) vs. 4.0(6.0), P<0.05 |
| Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA) score (±s) | 16.28±4.11 vs. 6.04±2.73, P<0.05 | ||||||
| Hamilton depression scale (HAMD) score (±s) | 14.69±3.80 vs. 5.77±3.02, P<0.05 | ||||||
| Pulmonary function (±s) | FVC/L: 2.74±0.35 vs. 3.51±0.29; FEV1/L: 2.02±0.41 vs. 2.83±0.22; PEF/L·s–1: 5.15±0.63 vs. 6.28±0.44, P<0.05 | ||||||
| Lung shadow area [M(IQR), mm2] | 16.88(40.65) vs. 143.77(83.21), P<0.05 | ||||||
| Total clinical effective rate (%) | 84.0% |
FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 second; FVC: forced vital capacity; NA: Not Available; PEF: peak expiratory flow; TCM: Traditional Chinese Medicine; WBC: white blood cell.