Acupotomy in the treatment of tenosynovitis of hand flexor tendons: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Acupotomy was used to treat tenosynovitis of hand flexor tendons (THFT) in China. But it's uncertain about the efficacy of acupotomy for THFT. We plan to evaluate the efficacy and safety about acupotomy therapy in the treatment of THFT through this review. METHODS: The protocol about this review was registered in PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42022330568). We searched 6 databases from their respective inception dates to January 11, 2022. Studies searched was screened by our reviewers, and then the raw data was filtered out. We used RevMan 5.3 software to perform statistical analysis. RESULTS: 11 studies involving 828 patients were shortlisted. The experimental group showed obvious advantages compared with the control group, such as effective rate (odds ratio [OR] = 6.77, 95% CI [confidence intervals] = [3.89, 11.77], P < .00001), cure rate (OR = 3.32, 95% CI = [1.81, 6.11], P = .0001) and Vas score (MD = -1.21, 95% CI = [-2.00, -0.42], Z = 3.01, P < .003). CONCLUSIONS: According to the above results, Acupotomy is an effective and safe treatment for THFT. So it should be recommended for the treatment of THFT patients.