[A systematic evaluation of randomized controlled trials for acupuncture and moxibustion treatment of insomnia].

OBJECTIVE

To assess the therapeutic effect of acupuncture on insomnia.

METHODS

A systematic evaluation of all relevant randomized controlled trials (RCT) about acupuncture and moxibustion treatment of insomnia was carried out. The data were statistically analyzed with a special software RevMan 4.1.

RESULTS

Six papers of RCT including 585 patients met the enrolled criteria. All of the trials were of lower in methodological quality without using blind method; Meta-analysis indicated that odds ratio was 3.55, 95% confidence interval [2.50, 5.05], P < 0.0001, as acupuncture group compared with drug group.

CONCLUSION

Acupuncture is possibly effective for insomnia. However, because of lower methodological quality of all the trials, this conclusion has no enough evidence.