[Meta analysis of effectiveness of acupoint application therapy for infantile diarrhea]

To analyze the effectiveness of acupoint application therapy for infantile diarrhea so as to provide an objective evidence for clinical decision making.

The authors of the present paper did a literature retrieval using The China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database, Chinese bio-medical database and Wanfang database covering the period of January 1, 1990-June 30, 2012, and made a systemic evaluation on the retrieved randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) of acupoint application therapy for infantile diarrhea using Cochrane system evaluation method. Following excluding the repetitive, irrelevant and non-randomized controlled trials, those meeting the standards of randomized controlled trials were collected. Trial quality was assessed using the Jadad score which evaluates the randomization process, blinding, and the description of withdrawals or dropouts. The RevMan 5. 1 software was used to make statistical analysis.

A total of 16 papers (2,151 patients) were included in the Meta analysis. The homogeneity test was better (chi2 = 8.09, P = 0.92, I2 = 0%), displaying a homogenicity of most studies. Meta analysis showed the merger effect quantity odds ratio (OR) = 4.68, and 95% confidence intervals (CIs): 3.41, 6.42, and the merger effect value test Z = 9.58, P < 0.00001. Statistical difference indicates a better therapeutic effect of acupoint application group than the control group, providing evidence in favor of acupoint application therapy for infantile diarrhea. Funnel chart displays that the researched object distribution is symmetric, being smaller in the bias. But the potential publication bias still possibly exists.

Acupoint application therapy for infantile diarrhea has some advantages, which needs further confirmation due to lower quality of the collected literatures. Larger sample, high quality and randomized controlled clinical trials are highly recommended.