Network meta-analysis of 7 acupuncture therapies for knee osteoarthritis

With the progression of society aging demographic, the prevalence of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) continues to rise steadily, exerting a significant impact on individuals' quality of life. Acupuncture therapy has garnered extensive utilization in the management of osteoarthritis; however, a comprehensive systematic review integrating acupuncture with traditional Chinese medicine remains absent. This study compared the clinical efficacy of 7 acupuncture methods (electroacupuncture, conventional acupuncture, warm needle, floating needle, fire needle, needle knife, and silver needle) for the treatment of KOA through a network meta-analysis.

This study examined the databases-PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, the China Biology Medicine, Chinese Journal Full-text Database, Wanfang Database, and VIP Database-for randomized controlled trials of the 7 methods for KOA treatment. The search time spanned from the database establishment to March 5, 2022. The primary outcome indicator was the total effective rate, and the secondary outcome indicator was the visual analog scale. After the layer-by-layer screening, the quality of the literature was assessed using the Cochrane systematic reviewer manual 5.1.0 bias risk assessment tool for randomized controlled trials. After data extraction, the R4.0.1 software was used for network meta-analysis.

Based on the network meta-analysis, the ranking of interventions based on the surface under the cumulative ranking curve for the total effective rate is as follows: silver needle (0.99) > floating needle (0.97) > needle knife (0.66) > fire needle (0.56) > warm needle (0.44) > conventional acupuncture (0.35) > electroacupuncture (0.13). Regarding the improvement in visual analog scale scores, the surface under the cumulative ranking curve ranking is as follows: silver needle (0.97) > conventional acupuncture (0.67) > needle knife (0.64) > floating needle (0.51) > warm needle (0.44) > fire needle (0.14) > electroacupuncture (0.09).

Based on the network meta-analysis, silver needle therapy emerged as the most efficacious and analgesic intervention for KOA. Nevertheless, given the notable variations in the quality and quantity of studies encompassing diverse treatment modalities, the findings of this research necessitate further substantiation through forthcoming high-quality multicenter, large-sample, randomized double-blind trials.