This systematic review and meta-analysis looked at how manual abdominal acupuncture and abdominal electroacupuncture compare to standard care alone for patients with poststroke constipation. The researchers combined data from multiple studies involving 943 patients to see if adding acupuncture helped.
The analysis found that adding acupuncture to conventional therapy significantly improved overall effectiveness and reduced the time until the first bowel movement. Both manual and electro-acupuncture showed similar benefits compared to standard care alone.
However, the study results come with important caveats. The number of included studies was limited, and the sample sizes were small. Additionally, there was significant variation in how the treatments were performed across the different studies. Because of these issues, the evidence is not strong enough to fully confirm the benefits.
Further high-quality trials are required to confirm these findings and optimize the acupuncture regimen for treating poststroke constipation. Until more data is available, patients should view these results as preliminary rather than definitive proof of effectiveness.
