Efficacy of acupuncture in the management of post-apoplectic aphasia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Background Aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of scalp, tongue, and Jin's 3-needle acupuncture for the improvement of postapoplectic aphasia. Method PubMed, Cochrane, Embase databases were searched using index words to identify qualifying randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Meta-analyses of odds ratios (OR) or standardized mean differences (SMD) were performed to evaluate the outcomes between investigational (scalp / tongue / Jin's 3-needle acupuncture) and control (traditional acupuncture; TA and/or rehabilitation training; RT) groups. Results Thirty-two RCTs (1310 participants in investigational group and 1270 in control group) were included. Compared to TA, (OR 3.05 [95% CI: 1.77, 5.28]; p<0.00001), tongue acupuncture (OR 3.49 [1.99, 6.11]; p<0.00001), and Jin's 3-needle therapy (OR 2.47 [1.10, 5.53]; p = 0.03) had significantly better total effective rate. Compared to RT, scalp acupuncture (OR 4.24 [95% CI: 1.68, 10.74]; p = 0.002) and scalp acupuncture with tongue acupuncture (OR 7.36 [3.33, 16.23]; p<0.00001) had significantly better total effective rate. In comparison with TA/RT, scalp acupuncture, tongue acupuncture, scalp acupuncture with tongue acupuncture, and Jin's three-needling significantly improved ABC, oral expression, comprehension, writing and reading scores. Conclusion As treatments to postapoplectic aphasia, scalp / tongue acupuncture and Jin's Three-needling are found better than TA and/or RT in yielding total effective rate and improving ABC, oral expression, comprehension, reading and writing scores.