Acupuncture and Moxibustion for Poststroke Depression: Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Integrative Medicine
• Evidence Synthesis

Background:

• Poststroke depression (PSD) is a frequent complication after stroke.
• Existing systematic reviews on acupuncture and moxibustion for PSD yield inconsistent findings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the methodological, reporting, and evidence quality of systematic reviews on acupuncture/moxibustion for PSD.
• To identify limitations and suggest future research directions in this field.

Main Methods:

• Searched 8 databases for systematic reviews on acupuncture/moxibustion for PSD published before August 10, 2024.
• Assessed methodological quality using AMSTAR 2, reporting quality with PRISMA 2020, and evidence quality via GRADE.
• Calculated corrected covered area to evaluate study overlap.

Main Results:

• Included 24 systematic reviews; all rated as having low or critically low methodological quality.
• Reporting quality was inadequate in 22 studies (1 seriously, 21 partially).
• Evidence quality ranged from very low to moderate, with mild to moderate outcome overlap.

Conclusions:

• Most reviews suggest acupuncture may benefit PSD, but quality issues persist.
• Improvements in methodology, reporting, and evidence quality are crucial.
• High-quality systematic reviews and robust, multicenter RCTs are needed for definitive conclusions.