Efficacy of Acupuncture in Postoperative Pain-Relieving: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

• Acupuncture is a traditional medical treatment in East Asia. • This is the latest systematic review of the efficacy of acupuncture in improving postoperative pain in the past 5 years. • Results suggest acupuncture may be a safe and effective option. • The included studies may have methodological shortcomings. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of acupuncture in relieving postoperative pain. Systematic review and meta-analysis. The search strategy was designed according to the PICOS principle (population, intervention, comparison, outcome, and study). PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Embase were searched from the inception of databases to August 25th, 2022 to collect studies on acupuncture in the management of postoperative pain. Two researchers independently screened the searched studies using the EndNote X9 software. Relevant data were extracted, and the risk of bias in included studies was assessed. RevMan 5.4 software was used for data analysis, and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation was used to assess the quality of evidence. A total of 25 studies were included. This meta-analysis showed statistically significant differences in the pain scores (SMD=-0.38, 95 %CI [-0.69, -0.07], p =.02) and the dosage of analgesics (SMD = -0.53, 95% CI [-0.99, -0.06], I² = 90 %, p <.00001] between the acupuncture group and the control group. Acupuncture is effective for alleviating postoperative pain and reducing the dosage of analgesics. More well-designed, and large-scale prospective studies are needed to further validate the efficacy of acupuncture in relieving postoperative pain. Acupuncture is an acceptable choice for relieving postoperative pain since it is convenient, effective, and acceptable. Nurses can provide tailored guidance for patients to enhance their recovery and satisfaction.