Effect of various acupuncture courses for upper limb motor dysfunction after ischemic stroke: a Bayesian network...

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Integrative Medicine

Background:

• Acupuncture is widely used for post-ischemic stroke upper limb motor dysfunction (PIS-ULMD).
• Variability in acupuncture course duration hinders optimal therapeutic outcomes.
• Lack of evidence-based temporal parameters in guidelines leads to inconsistent treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of diverse acupuncture courses for PIS-ULMD treatment using network meta-analysis.
• To identify the optimal acupuncture course duration for PIS-ULMD recovery.

Main Methods:

• Network meta-analysis of 67 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 5,635 patients.
• Searched ten databases up to March 21, 2025.
• Assessed risk of bias using Cochrane RoB 2 tool; evaluated evidence quality with GRADE system.

Main Results:

• Acupuncture plus conventional therapy improved Fugl-Meyer Assessment-Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) scores more than conventional therapy alone (MD=6.95).
• An 8-week acupuncture course was identified as the most effective duration.
• Evidence quality for the optimal course recommendation was low to critically low.

Conclusions:

• Acupuncture combined with conventional therapy significantly enhances upper limb motor function in PIS-ULMD patients.
• An 8-week acupuncture regimen may be optimal, especially for subacute and severe cases.
• Further high-quality RCTs with larger sample sizes are recommended to validate findings.