Evaluation of the efficacy and safety of acupuncture assisted treatment for atrial fibrillation: A systematic review and meta-analysis based on randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND

To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF).

METHODS

Eight databases were searched. The search time limit is from January 2000 to November 2023. All randomized controlled trials on acupuncture treatment of AF were included. After the literature screening, data extraction and quality evaluation were carried out independently according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the included literature was analyzed by Meta using RevMan 5.4 software.

RESULTS

A total of 15 research studies on randomized controlled trials were included, involving 1960 patients. The results of the meta-analysis showed that acupuncture therapy could increase the sinus cardioversion rate of patients with AF, and the difference was statistically significant (relative risk = 1.21, 25% confidence interval (CI) [1.11, 1.31], P < .001). The clinically effective rate of the acupuncture plus drug treatment group was higher than that of the drug treatment group (relative risk = 1.32, 95% CI [1.19, 1.46], P < .01). Acupuncture plus other conventional therapies treatment was more helpful in reducing the ventricular rate of patients with AF (mean difference = -7.89, 95% CI [-14.52, -1.26], P = .006). The cardioversion time of patients with AF treated with acupuncture plus conventional therapies was shorter than those treated with traditional therapies alone (standardized mean difference = -1.82, 95% CI [-3.28, -0.35], P = .01). No severe adverse reactions such as hemorrhage, hematoma, or local infection caused by acupuncture were reported in the study.

CONCLUSION

The available evidence shows that acupuncture can effectively improve the total clinical effective rate and sinus rhythm recovery rate, shorten the recovery time of sinus rhythm, and reduce the ventricular rate, and there are no apparent adverse reactions. However, a limited number of studies may affect the generalizability of the findings. Future studies should include more extensive and diverse studies to enhance the power and generalizability of the findings.