Comparative efficacy of acupuncture point stimulation treatments for dialysis patients with uremic pruritus: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Uremic pruritus (UP) is a common complication of chronic kidney disease that causes sleep disturbances and increases all-cause mortality. Currently, the first-line medications for UP exhibit inadequate pruritus control with adverse effects. Various acupuncture point stimulation treatments (APSTs) have been shown to be effective as adjuvant therapies in UP, and a network meta-analysis can offer relative efficacy estimates for treatments for which head-to-head studies have not been performed.

Methods

We conducted a random-effects network meta-analysis on a consistency model to compare the different APSTs for UP. The primary outcomes were the mean visual analog scale (VAS) score and effectiveness rate (ER).

Results

The network meta-analysis retrieved 27 random

SUBMITTER: Lu PH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11003387 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature