Abstract
BACKGROUND: To evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture treatment of postoperative urinary retention after cervical cancer using meta-analysis. METHODS: Computer searches were performed on 8 common Chinese and English databases such as PubMed, EMbase, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang (Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform), VIP (China Science and Technology Journal Database), China Biomedical Literature Database and Cochrane Library, as well as Clinical Trials for the treatment of urinary retention after cervical cancer with acupuncture. A randomized controlled trial of postoperative urinary retention after cervical cancer from the time of library construction to 01/2024. The quality of the included literature was evaluated using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool. Meta-analysis and risk of bias analyses were performed using RevMan 5.4, regression and sensitivity analyses were performed using Stata 17.0. RESULTS: A total of 31 randomized controlled trials with 2179 patients were included in the study. Interventions included filiform needling, embedding needle, electroacupuncture, moxibustion, warm acupuncture, etc. The results showed that acupuncture treatment increased clinical efficiency [relative risk = 1.32, 95% confidence intervals [CI] (1.20, 1.45), P < .00001], reduced residual urine volume [standardized mean difference = -3.21, 95% CI (-4.00, -0.40), P < .00001], and shortened the time to return to spontaneous urination [MD = -1.96, 95% CI (-3.02, -0.91), P = .0003] and indwelling catheter time [mean difference (MD) = -3.76, 95% CI (-5.66, -1.86), P = .0001], and improved maximum urine flow rate [MD = 4.57, 95% CI (0.70, 8.44), P = .02] and bladder compliance [MD = 10.04, 95% CI (8.14, 11.93), P < .00001]. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture treatment promotes recovery in patients with postoperative urinary retention after cervical cancer, but high-quality studies need to be included to further compare different acupuncture interventions.