Cochrane · systematic review · CD001218
Acupuncture for the prevention of episodic migraine
Linde, K, Allais, G, Brinkhaus, B, et al. · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · 2016 · Cochrane Library
Pain, Palliative and Supportive CareAMSTAR 2: not assessed
SoF tableOnly the outcomes this review put in its Summary of Findings table are listed (the Cochrane Handbook caps them at about seven per comparison). Its other analyses are not shown here.
Questions
16
current version
GRADE rated
16
No studies
0
Included studies
NR
No studies 0 · 0%Ungraded 0 · 0%Very low 0 · 0%Low 3 · 18.8%Moderate 12 · 75%High 1 · 6.3%
Ungraded means an effect was reported without a GRADE rating; it is not a gap. No studies means the review found nothing to answer the question. The six categories are a display order, not a score.
Questions and results
Acupuncture compared to no treatment/usual care
Population: people with episodic migraine
| Outcome | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Headache frequency (after treatment) Acupuncture vs no treatment/usual care | no estimate extracted | 4 studies · 2199 participants | Moderate Downgraded: inconsistency |
Headache frequency ( Acupuncture vs no treatment/usual care | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 284 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency |
Response (after treatment) Acupuncture vs no treatment/usual care | RR 2.4 [2.08, 2.76] | 4 studies · 2519 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency |
Response ( Acupuncture vs no treatment/usual care | RR 2.16 [1.35, 3.45] | 1 study · 377 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency |
Acupuncture compared to sham interventions
Population: people with episodic migraine
| Outcome | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Headache frequency (after treatment) Acupuncture vs sham interventions | no estimate extracted | 12 studies · 1646 participants | Moderate Downgraded: inconsistency |
Headache frequency ( Acupuncture vs sham interventions | no estimate extracted | 10 studies · 1534 participants | Moderate Downgraded: imprecision, inconsistency |
Response (after treatment) Acupuncture vs sham interventions | RR 1.23 [1.11, 1.36] | 14 studies · 1825 participants | Moderate Downgraded: imprecision, inconsistency |
Response ( Acupuncture vs sham interventions | RR 1.25 [1.13, 1.39] | 11 studies · 1683 participants | Moderate Downgraded: imprecision, inconsistency |
Number of participants dropping out due to adverse effects Acupuncture vs sham interventions | RR 2.84 [0.43, 18.71] | 7 studies · 931 participants | Low Downgraded: imprecision, inconsistency |
Number of participants reporting adverse effects Acupuncture vs sham interventions | RR 1.15 [0.85, 1.56] | 4 studies · 1414 participants | High |
Acupuncture compared to prophylactic drugs
Population: people with episodic migraine
| Outcome | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Headache frequency Acupuncture vs prophylactic drugs | no estimate extracted | 3 studies · 739 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias |
Headache frequency Acupuncture vs prophylactic drugs | no estimate extracted | 3 studies · 744 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias |
Response Acupuncture vs prophylactic drugs | RR 1.24 [1.08, 1.44] | 3 studies · 743 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias |
Response Acupuncture vs prophylactic drugs | RR 1.11 [0.97, 1.26] | 3 studies · 744 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias |
Number of participants dropping out due to adverse effects Acupuncture vs prophylactic drugs | OR 0.27 [0.08, 0.86] | 4 studies · 451 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency |
Number of participants reporting adverse effects Acupuncture vs prophylactic drugs | OR 0.25 [0.1, 0.62] | 5 studies · 931 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency |