Effect and safety of stimulating acupoints in children with cough variant asthma: A Meta-analysis

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of stimulating acupoints in subjects with childhood cough variant asthma (CVA).

Methods: A Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about the comparison between acupoint sticking therapy and non-acupoint sticking therapy for childhood CVA was conducted. The trials' quality and risk bias were assessed using the Cochrane Handbook tool. Odds ratio (OR) or risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), mean differences (MDs) or standardized mean differences (SMDs) of a random-effects model were calculated. Heterogeneity was assessed by P value and I 2 statistics.

Results: Thirteen studies were included in our review, indicating that the total effective rate of stimulating-acupoint group is better than that of control group [RR 1.19, 95% CI (1.13-1.26), P < 0.000 01]. The recurrence rate in two years [RR 0.31, 95% CI (0.19-0.51), P < 0.000 01] and cough duration [MD = -2.42, 95% CI (-3.75, -1.09), P = 0.0004] of childhood CVA in stimulating-acupoint group were significantly lower than those in control group. Besides, stimulating acupoints can reduce the level of IgE [SMD = -0.75, 95% CI (-1.21,-0.30), P = 0.001] and EOS [SMD = -0.36, 95% CI (-0.92, 0.21), P = 0.22].

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that stimulating acupoints had positive effects on childhood CVA and was relatively safe treatment. However, more RCTs with more useful indicators are warrant to confirm the current findings.