Acupuncture and related therapies for treating irritable bowel syndrome: overview of systematic reviews and network meta-analysis.

Irene X Y WuCharlene Hoi-Lam WongRobin S T HoWilliam K W Cheung Alexander Charles FordJustin C Y WuArthur D P MakHolger CramerVincent C H Chung

Published in: Therapeutic advances in gastroenterology (2019)

The risk of bias and NMA inconsistency among included trials limited the trustworthiness of the conclusion. Patients who did not respond well to first-line conventional therapies or antidepressants may consider acupuncture as an alternative. Future trials should investigate the potential of (1) acupuncture as an add-on to antidepressants and (2) the combined effect of Chinese herbs and acupuncture, which is the norm of routine Chinese medicine practice.

Keyphrases

systematic review
irritable bowel syndrome
major depressive disorder
meta analyses
healthcare
primary care
randomized controlled trial
clinical practice
current status
quality improvement
bipolar disorder