[A Meta-analysis of Effectiveness of Acupoint Catgut Embedding Therapy for Insomnia]

To evaluate the effectiveness and superiority of acupoint catgut-embedding in the treatment of insomnia.

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for insomnia treated by acupoint implantation of catgut were included in the present study. We searched the related articles from 6 databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, CBM, CNKI, VIP and Wanfang) from the date of inception to March 19, 2017 by using keywords "catgut implantation at acupuncture point" or "catgut implantation at acupoint" and "insomnia" or "agrypnia" and "randomised (or randomized) clinical trial". Quality assessments were performed by two researchers independently using GRADE profile 3.6, followed by crosscheck. Data were analyzed using software Revman 5.3 and STATA 14.0.

Twenty-two trials met the inclusion criteria were included. They recruited 1 714 cases of insomnia. GRADE grading suggests a low quality of these articles. Heterogeneous test (numerical test) showed χ²＝31.11, P＝0.07, I²＝32%. Gabriz chart and sensitivity analysis ultimately determined that these trials have smaller or no heterogenity. The effective rate of acupoint catgut embedding for insomnia was higher than that of the control group (OR＝ 3.77; 95% CI: 2.63－5.41; P<0.00001).

Acupoint catgut embedding therapy has a positive role in clinical treatment of insomnia. But due to lower quality of current literature, more high-quality randomized controlled clinical trials are required.