The efficacy of acupuncture-based chinese medicine in chronic fatigue syndrome: A meta-analysis

The efficacy of acupuncture therapy in treating chronic fatigue syndrome remains a matter of intense debate owing to contradictory findings. This article describes a systematic review and meta-analysis to study its effect on fatigue, functional mobility, and mental health.

A thorough search of PubMed, PEDro, CINAHL, SportDiscus, and Scopus was performed. The studies meeting the PICO criteria for the Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome were independently screened, and the data were extracted. Standardized mean differences with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using fixed or random-effects models. Publication bias and study quality were assessed to ensure reliability.

Acupuncture demonstrated potential benefits in improving near-term fatigue (RR = -1.21, 95% CI: -1.38 to -1.04), long-term fatigue (RR = -0.56, 95% CI: -0.70 to -0.42), somatic and mental health (RR = -0.30, 95% CI: -1.03 to 0.44), and reducing depression incidence (RR = -0.28, 95% CI: -2.11 to 1.56) in patients with CFS as an effective treatment modality.

Acupuncture, especially when combined with rehabilitation, seems to improve fatigue and quality of life among patients with CFS. However, results should be considered carefully since some methodological weaknesses are worth mentioning, such as diversity between studies and the inclusion of lower-quality clinical trials. Future research should consider the importance of conducting large-scale, multicenter randomized controlled trials with standardized methodology to confirm these findings.