Therapeutic effects of acupuncture therapy for kidney function and common symptoms in patients with chronic kidney disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Figures & data

Figure 1. PRISMA flow diagram of literature search and study selection. CNKI, China National Knowledge Infrastructure; RCT, randomized control trial.

Figure 2. Meta-analysis (A) and TSA (B) of acupuncture vs. control group for serum creatinine. TSA, trial sequential analysis; Scr, serum creatinine; SD, standard deviation; SMD, standardized mean difference; 95% CI, 95% confidence interval. The blue curve represents the Z-curve, the red curves above and below represent trial sequential monitoring boundaries, the dashed red dotted line represents the traditional level of statistical significance, and the red vertical line represents RIS value; the red lines on the sides closest to the horizontal line are boundaries for futility.

Figure 3. Meta-analysis (A) and TSA (B) of acupuncture vs. control group for blood urea nitrogen. TSA, trial sequential analysis; BUN, blood urea nitrogen; SD, standard deviation; SMD, standardized mean difference; 95% CI, 95% confidence interval. The blue curve represents the Z-curve, the red curves above and below represent trial sequential monitoring boundaries, the dashed red dotted line represents the traditional level of statistical significance, and the red vertical line represents RIS value; the red lines on the sides closest to the horizontal line are boundaries for futility.

Figure 4. Meta-analysis (A) and TSA (B) of acupuncture vs. control group for pruritus (continuous data). TSA: trial sequential analysis; SD: standard deviation; SMD: standardized mean difference; 95% CI: 95% confidence interval. The blue curve represents the Z-curve, the red curves above and below represent trial sequential monitoring boundaries, the dashed red dotted line represents the traditional level of statistical significance, and the red vertical line represents RIS value; the red lines on the sides closest to the horizontal line are boundaries for futility.

Figure 5. Meta-analysis of acupuncture vs. control group for pruritus (dichotomous data).

Figure 6. Co-occurrence network mapping of author keywords.

Data availability statement

All data relevant to the study are included in the article and uploaded as supplementary material.