Acupoint stimulation for cancer-related fatigue: A quantitative synthesis of randomised controlled trials.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of acupoint stimulation (AS) in managing cancer-related fatigue (CRF).
Results Summary
The study found that AS was more effective than standard treatment/care in alleviating CRF, with significant results in overall and subgroup analyses. True AS showed a trend toward better outcomes compared to sham AS, though the difference was not statistically significant.
Population
Patients with cancer-related fatigue.
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Varied (short-term and medium-term interventions mentioned)
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
acupoint stimulation (AS) | decrease | cancer-related fatigue (CRF) | patients with cancer-related fatigue | SMD = -0.95, p = 0.008 | was more effective in alleviating | #1 |
acupuncture | decrease | cancer-related fatigue (CRF) | patients with cancer-related fatigue | SMD = -1.25, p = 0.002 | was more effective in alleviating | #2 |
short-term AS | decrease | cancer-related fatigue (CRF) | patients with cancer-related fatigue | SMD = -0.95, p = 0.02 | was more effective in alleviating | #3 |
medium-term AS | decrease | cancer-related fatigue (CRF) | patients with cancer-related fatigue | SMD = -0.96, p = 0.003 | was more effective in alleviating | #4 |
true AS | decrease | cancer-related fatigue (CRF) | patients with cancer-related fatigue | no significant change | favoured the true AS for CRF management, although the difference did not reach statistical significance | #5 |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: This study aimed to identify the research evidence on acupoint stimulation (AS) for cancer-related fatigue (CRF) management. METHODS: Randomised controlled trials that utilised AS for CRF management were retrieved. The Cochrane Back Review Group Risk of Bias Tool was used for quality appraisal. RevMan 5.3 was used for meta-analysis. RESULTS: Fifteen studies were included. Both the overall (SMD = -0.95, p = 0.008) and sub-group (acupuncture: SMD = -1.25, p = 0.002; short-term AS: SMD = -0.95, p = 0.02; medium-term AS: SMD = -0.96, p = 0.003) analyses indicated that AS was more effective in alleviating CRF than standard treatment/care. A comparison between the true and sham AS interventions favoured the true AS for CRF management, although the difference did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSION: This study identified a promising role of AS in improving CRF. However, the study findings should be interpreted prudently due to the limited quality and sample sizes of some of the included studies.