Effect of Acupuncture Intervention and Manipulation Types on Poststroke Dysarthria: A Systematic Review and...

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Traditional Chinese Medicine

Background:

• Post-stroke dysarthria is a common and debilitating communication disorder.
• Acupuncture is a potential therapeutic intervention for neurological conditions.
• The optimal application of acupuncture for post-stroke dysarthria requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture interventions for post-stroke dysarthria.
• To compare different acupuncture manipulation types when combined with speech-language therapy (SLT) or general management (GM).

Main Methods:

• Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
• Searched major electronic databases (PubMed, CENTRAL, Scopus, RISS, CNKI) for relevant studies published before April 2019.
• Assessed risk of bias and used risk ratio (RR) and standard mean differences for efficacy analysis.

Main Results:

• Fifteen RCTs involving 1453 patients were included.
• Electroacupuncture plus SLT and manual acupuncture plus SLT were more effective than SLT alone (RR = 1.520 and 1.380, respectively).
• Acupuncture plus GM showed higher efficacy than GM alone (RR = 1.165). No specific manipulation type enhanced efficacy.

Conclusions:

• Combining manual or electroacupuncture with SLT appears to maximize benefits for post-stroke dysarthria.
• Acupuncture's effectiveness is evident when used alongside conventional therapies.
• The methodological quality of included studies was generally low, suggesting a need for higher-quality research.