A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Herb-Partitioned Moxibustion in the Treatment of Primary Dysmenorrhea

摘要

OBJECTIVE: To systematically evaluate the clinical effects of herb-partitioned moxibustion on patients with primary dysmenorrhea. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials of herb-partitioned moxibustion for primary dysmenorrhea published from the year the database was established to November, 2017 were searched from CNKI,Wanfang Database, VIP database, CBM, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library. Data extraction and quality evaluation were performed in papers meeting inclusion criteria. The outcomes measurements included clinical effect rate, visual analogue score(VAS), plasma PGF2α, adverse events, recurrence rate, and quality of life. The Rev Man 5.3 software was applied for meta-analysis. RESULTS:(1) A total of 16 studies were eligible and included in the meta-analysis involved1126 patients.(2) A statistically significant increasing in clinical effective rate was found in HMP group compared with control group [OR=3.49, 95%CI(2.25, 5.39), P<0.00001].(3) There was significant difference between two groups in visual analogue score [MD=–7.48, 95%CI(–9.93, –5.02), P<0.00001], which suggested the patients who received HPM had lower VAS scales than those who received no HPM.(4) There was significantly difference in serum PGF2α between the groups receiving HPM and the control group [MD=–4.61, 95%CI(–9.19, –0.03), P=0.05].(5) 2 trials reported followup duration, and all included studies did not mention the recurrence of PD during the follow-up stage, and all included studies did not mention the improvement of quality of life of PD during period of management and follow-up stage.CONCLUSIONS: Herb-partitioned moxibustion is beneficial for primary dysmenorrhea. However, the conclusion is not completely accurate with limitations of the current RCTs. The safety of herb-partitioned moxibustion remains to be defined by future studies. Attention should be paid to long-term effects of herb-partitioned moxibustion in clinical research. High-quality RCTs are required to confirm the effectiveness of herb-partitioned moxibustion for primary dysmenorrhea.