Acupuncture for atopic eczema: Evidence mapping-based randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses

Background: Acupuncture is used to relieve symptoms, reducing recurrence, and improve the lives of patients with skin diseases. Objective: To identify, describe, and organize the available evidence on acupuncture for atopic eczema (AE) using evidence mapping of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), systematic reviews (SRs), and meta -analyses.Methods: We searched eight databases from inception to October 30, 2021, for RCTs, SRs, and meta -analyses of acupuncture for patients with AE. Two reviewers screened the papers, before extracting the data and assessing the quality of the included studies. The basic and clinical characteristics, and quality of assessment of the studies were assessed using descriptive statistics and qualitative analyses. A bubble plot was used to visualize the evidence map to indicate the relationship between the type and frequency of outcomes, the quality and overall effects of acupuncture, and the outcomes of the studies.Results: Forty-five studies (40 RCTs, five SRs, and meta-analyses) were included. The number of publi-cations increased rapidly after 2013 and peaked in 2019. The most frequently applied intervention was one type of acupuncture therapy. The most frequent comparison was between acupuncture and active medicine. The symptomatic outcome was the most commonly used, and the quality of the included studies was relatively low. All included studies showed a significantly better outcome in the acupunc-ture group compared to the control group ( P < 0.05). Most outcomes in the included studies were of low or critically low quality. Several symptomatic outcomes and health-related quality of life outcomes in the included RCTs indicated moderate quality, while some symptomatic outcomes and global symptom improvement in the included SRs and meta-analyses indicated low quality.Conclusion: The majority of studies related to acupuncture for AE indicated promising results, but with relatively low quality; thus, further studies with more robust designs should be conducted to validate the results.(c) 2022 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of World Journal of Acupuncture Moxibustion House.