Ear Acupressure for Allergic Rhinitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Juan Zhong; Shuqin Liu; Dan Lai; Tao Lu; Yifeng Shen; Qisheng Gong; Peijia Li; Qinxiu Zhang

doi:10.1155/2021/6699749

Ear Acupressure for Allergic Rhinitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2021 May 3:2021:6699749. doi: 10.1155/2021/6699749. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Juan Zhong¹, Shuqin Liu¹, Dan Lai², Tao Lu³, Yifeng Shen¹, Qisheng Gong¹, Peijia Li¹, Qinxiu Zhang^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 39 Shi-er-qiao Road, Chengdu 610072, Sichuan Province, China.
² Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, No. 25 TaiPing Street, Luzhouv 646000, Sichuan, China.
³ Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery Department One, First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650032, Yunnan, China.
⁴ School of Medical and Life Sciences/Reproductive & Women-Children Hospital, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 610072, Sichuan Province, China.

Abstract

Background: The treatment effects and safety of ear acupressure (EAP) for patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) have yet to be clarified.

Objective: To evaluate the effects and safety of EAP in AR patients.

Design: Systematic review of published studies.

Methods: A total of 24 English and Chinese databases (PubMed, EMBASE (Excerpta Medical Database), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, Informit, ScienceDirect, LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences), ProQuest, AMED, Blackwell Synergy, PsycINFO, Panteleimon, AcuBriefs, KoreaMed, IndMed, Ingenta, mRCT, ISI Web of Knowledge, ERIC, VIP Information (http://www.cqvip.com), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (http://www.cnki.net), Cochrane Library, Chinese Cochrane Centre Controlled Trials Register Platform, and Wanfang Chinese Digital Periodical and Conference Database) were searched from their respective inceptions to August 2020 to collect randomized controlled trials of ear acupressure for allergic rhinitis. We performed literature inclusion, data extraction, and trial quality evaluations. Methodological quality was assessed according to the Cochrane Handbook. Revman5.3 was used for all analyses.

Results: A total of 203 trials were identified and eleven studies involved 1094 participants aged 3-70 years. EAP was better than control group interventions in terms of effectiveness (risk ratio (RR): 0.51; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.36-0.70; P < 0.0001). EAP was superior to sham EAP in terms of improvement of the total nasal symptom score (RR: -0.50; 95% CI: -0.96-0.05; P = 0.03), sneezing score (RR: -0.36; 95% CI: -0.59-0.12; P = 0.003), global QoL score (RR: 0.42; 95% CI: 0.04-0.08; P = 0.03), and eye symptom score (RR: -0.36; 95% CI: -0.67-0.05; P = 0.02).

Conclusions: Despite the positive results, it is premature to confirm the efficacy of EAP for treating AR. More high-quality studies are needed to confirm safety and efficacy.

Publication types

Review