Efficacy and safety of herbal medicine combined with acupuncture in pediatric epilepsy treatment: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
PLoS One
; 19(5): e0303201, 2024.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38723054
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of herbal medicine and acupuncture combination for pediatric epilepsy treatment.METHODS:
Databases were searched from their interception until October 2023 to identify randomized controlled trials focusing on the therapeutic efficacy of herbal medicine-acupuncture combination (intervention group) for pediatric epilepsy. The primary outcome was the risk of treatment failure, whereas the secondary outcomes included the risk of post-treatment electroencephalogram (EEG) abnormalities and adverse events. Subgroup analyses were conducted based on the type of herbal compound formulas. Meta-regression analysis was conducted to examine the influence of patient demographics and clinical history on the therapeutic efficacy of herbal medicine-acupuncture combination for pediatric epilepsy. To assess the cumulative evidence, trial sequential analysis (TSA) was performed.RESULTS:
The analysis included 10 trials involving a total of 882 pediatric patients. Meta-analysis revealed that the intervention group had a lower risk of treatment failure than the control group (risk ratio [RR] = 0.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.19-0.47, P<0.00001, I2 = 0%, 10 trials). Subgroup analyses showed that therapeutic efficacy was consistent among the different herbal compound formulas. Meta-regression analysis revealed that the efficacy of the treatments did not significantly vary with patient age, male sex, and duration of seizure history. TSA suggested that herbal medicine-acupuncture combination exerted a robust and conclusive effect on seizure treatment. Although the combined used of herbal medicine and acupuncture was not associated with a lower risk of post-treatment EEG abnormalities (RR = 0.82, 95%CI0.6-1.11, P = 0.2, 3 trials), the risk of adverse events was reduced (RR = 0.27, 95%CI0.18-0.41, P<0.00001, 4 trials).CONCLUSION:
The meta-analysis suggested that combined use of herbal medicine and acupuncture is a promising and safe clinical approach for pediatric epilepsy treatment. Further large-scale studies are necessary to conclusively determine the efficacy and safety of herbal medicine and acupuncture in pediatric epilepsy treatment.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Acupuncture Therapy
/
Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
/
Epilepsy
Limits:
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
En
Journal:
PLoS One
Journal subject:
CIENCIA
/
MEDICINA
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Taiwán
Country of publication:
Estados Unidos