[Considerations of methods for developing patient versions of guidelines and their application for acupuncture].

Currently, there is no international standard for the methodology of patient versions of guideline development. In China, the development of patient versions of guidelines is still in its infancy, and there are no registered or published patient versions of guidelines in the field of acupuncture. This paper introduces two methods of developing patient versions of guidelines: directly converting clinical practice guidelines into patient versions guidelines and developing patient versions of guidelines independently. The relationship and differences between patient guidelines and clinical practice versions of guidelines are compared. By integrating the unique characteristics of acupuncture, this paper analyzes and discusses the significance, problems, and challenges of developing patient versions of guidelines in the field of acupuncture, aiming to provide methodological references for the future development of acupuncture patient versions of guidelines.

Traditional Chinese medicine for insomnia: Recommendation mapping of the global clinical guidelines.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) represents a rich repository of empirically-developed traditional medicines. The findings call for more rigorous study into the efficacy, safety, and mechanisms of action of TCM remedies to strengthen the evidence base. AIM OF THE STUDY: To systematically review the quality of insomnia clinical practice guidelines that involve TCM recommendations and to summarize the certainty of evidence supporting the recommendations, strength, and consistency of recommendations, providing valuable research references for the development of future insomnia guidelines. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, CNKI, Wanfang, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese Medical Association, Chinese Sleep Research Society, Medsci, Medlive, British National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), and the International Guidelines Collaboration Network (GIN) for clinical practice guidelines on insomnia from inception to March 5, 2023. Four evaluators conducted independent assessments of the quality of the guidelines by employing the AGREE II tool. Subsequently, the guideline recommendations were consolidated and presented as evidence maps. RESULTS: Thirteen clinical practice guidelines addressing insomnia, encompassing 211 recommendations (consisting of 127 evidence-based and 84 expert consensus recommendations), were deemed eligible for inclusion in our analysis. The evaluation results revealed an overall suboptimal quality, with the "scope and purpose" domain achieving the highest score (58.1%), while the "applicability" domain garnered the lowest score (13.0%). Specifically, it was observed that 74.8% (n = 95) of the evidence-based recommendations were supported by evidence of either very low or low certainty, in contrast to the expert consensus recommendations, which accounted for 61.9% (n = 52). We subsequently synthesized 44 recommendations into four evidence maps, focusing on proprietary Chinese medicines, Chinese medicine prescriptions, acupuncture, and massage, respectively. Notably, Chinese herbal remedies and acupuncture exhibited robust support, substantiated by high-certainty evidence, exemplified by interventions such as Xuefu Zhuyu decoction, spleen decoction, body acupuncture, and ear acupuncture, resulting in solid recommendations. Conversely, proprietary Chinese medicines needed more high-certainty evidence, predominantly yielding weak recommendations. As for other therapies, the level of certainty was predominantly categorized as low or very low. Recommendations about magnetic therapy, bathing, and fumigation relied primarily on expert consensus, needing more substantive clinical research evidence, consequently forming weak recommendations. Hot ironing and acupoint injection recommendations were weakly endorsed, primarily based on observational studies. Furthermore, interventions like qigong, gua sha, and moxibustion displayed a relatively limited number of clinical studies, necessitating further exploration to ascertain their efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis revealed a need for substantial improvement in the quality of all the included guidelines related to insomnia. Notably, recommendations for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) treatments predominantly rely on low-certainty evidence. This study represents a pioneering effort in the utilization of recommendation mapping to both present and identify existing gaps in the evidence landscape within TCM therapies, thus setting the stage for future research initiatives. The evidence supporting TCM therapy recommendations must be fortified to achieve a more substantial level of recommendation and higher certainty. Consequently, there exists a critical and pressing demand for high-quality clinical investigations dedicated to TCM, with a specific focus on ascertaining its long-term efficacy, safety, and potential side effects in the context of insomnia treatment. These endeavors are poised to establish a robust scientific foundation to inform the development of TCM therapy recommendations within the insomnia guidelines.

Corrigendum: Trends in acupuncture for infertility: a scoping review with bibliometric and visual analysis.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1351281.].

Trends in acupuncture for infertility: a scoping review with bibliometric and visual analysis.

Background: Unexplained recurrent implantation failure and the high cost of assisted reproductive techniques for those experiencing infertility have increasingly resulted in the use of acupuncture. However, the trends and research status of acupuncture on infertility resulting in natural conception have not been systematically summarized. This scoping review and knowledge graph analysis aimed to summarize existing clinical studies on acupuncture for infertility that resulted in natural conception. Methods: Seven databases, namely, PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, CNKI, VIP, Wanfang Data, and SinoMed, were searched up to August 2023 (updated on 1 April). Two authors independently identified related clinical studies and systematic reviews, and extracted data from included studies on acupuncture for infertility; any discrepancies were resolved by discussion or judged by a third author. A meta-analysis was conducted based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and data were synthesized using risk ratios with 95% confidence intervals. Results: Of the 310 articles meeting the inclusion criteria, 274 were primary studies, 7 were systematic reviews, and 29 were case reports. Reported adverse events included mild ovarian irritation and early signs of miscarriage. Out of the 274 primary studies, there were 40 (14.60%) cases of male infertility and 234 (85.40%) cases of female infertility. Current research highlights on acupuncture for infertility focused on female infertility caused by polycystic ovary syndrome, ovulation disorder, and luteinized unruptured follicle syndrome (LUFS), while acupuncture for male infertility was a hotspot in the early research stage. The meta-analysis also suggested that acupuncture was more effective than human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) [RR = 1.89, 95% CI (1.47, 2.42), 11 RCTs, 662 participants]. Acupuncture combined with HCG was comparable to HCG [RR = 2.33, 95% CI (1.53, 3.55), four RCTs, 259 participants]. Compared with no treatment, acupuncture resulted in a higher pregnancy rate [RR = 22.12, 95% CI (1.39, 353.09), one RCT, 47 participants]. There was no statistical difference between acupuncture combined with HCG plus letrozole and HCG plus letrozole [RR = 1.56, 95% CI (0.84, 2.89), one RCT, 84 participants]. Conclusion: Current research highlights on acupuncture for infertility resulting in natural conception focused on female infertility caused by polycystic ovary syndrome, ovulation disorder, and LUFS, while studies on male infertility and female infertility caused by blockage in the fallopian tube, thin endometrium, and other factors were insufficient. Well-designed confirmatory clinical studies are still needed as the research hypotheses of most studies were unclear.