Acupoint herbal patching at Shenque (CV8) as an adjunctive therapy for acute diarrhea in children: A systematic review and meta-analysis

• Published in: European journal of integrative medicine Vol. 10; pp. 25 - 37
• Main Authors: Liu, Zhe, Yao, Ke-yu, Wang, Hui-ru, Li, Yong-le, Li, Meng-ling, Liu, Jian-ping, Zhai, Shuang-qing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier GmbH 01.02.2017
• Subjects: Children; Chinese herbs; Diarrhea; Meta-analysis; Randomized trials; Topical application; Diarrhea; Chinese herbs; Topical application; Children; Randomized trials; Meta-analysis
• ISSN: 1876-3820; 1876-3839
• DOI: 10.1016/j.eujim.2017.01.009

Acute diarrhea is one of the most frequent illnesses in children and causes hospital attendance in developing countries. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the beneficial effect and safety of acupoint herbal patching (AHP) at Shenque (CV8) as an adjunctive therapy for acute diarrhea in children. We searched for published or registered randomized clinical trials (RCTs) in seven databases (from their inception to September 30, 2016) and three clinical trial registries that compared combined therapy of AHP applied at Shenque together with conventional treatments to conventional treatments alone. Data extraction and risk of bias assessment were conducted by two independent reviewers. Stata 12.0 was used for statistical analyses. 21 eligible studies involving 3560 children with acute diarrhea were included. All of the RCTs were generally of poor methodological quality. Compared with conventional treatments which included symptomatic treatment (fluid supplementation, nutritional management, adsorbents, probiotics, etc.) and anti-infection therapy (antibiotics or antiviral drugs), AHP at Shenque as adjuvant therapy reduced mean duration of diarrhea (MD=−36.49h, 95% confidence interval −47.50 to −25.49) and decreased the risk of treatment failure (RR=0.21, 95% confidence interval 0.17 to 0.27) at 72h after treatment began without any reports of serious adverse events. AHP applied at Shenque (CV8) as an adjunct therapy seemed to be a therapeutic choice in the management of diarrhea in children. However, a robust conclusion could not be drawn. Future clinical trials should be designed more rigorously.