Intranasal Acupuncture for Allergic Rhinitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Overview

Journal Medicine (Baltimore)

Specialty General Medicine

Date 2024 Nov 13

PMID 39533599

Authors

Yongjun Li

Yijie Wang

Yuan Liang

Xiuying Si

Zhixiang Li

Youpeng Wang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: To evaluate the efficacy of intranasal acupuncture as a treatment for allergic rhinitis (AR) through a comprehensive review.

Methods: Comprehensive searches were performed in both Chinese (CNKI, VIP, CBM, and Wanfang) and English databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science) to gather randomized controlled trials available from the inception of the database until August 2024. The primary outcomes considered were the effectiveness rate, visual analog scale score, total nasal symptom scores, total nonnasal symptom scores, Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality-of-Life Questionnaire score, adverse effects, and follow-up observations. The quality of each study was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias tool, and data analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.4 software.

Results: This study incorporated 14 articles involving a total of 1009 patients. The meta-analysis revealed that patients with AR who underwent intranasal acupuncture experienced more significant improvements compared to the control group. Notably, the treatment considerably improved both nasal and nonnasal symptoms, along with the patients' quality of life. Moreover, during the follow-up, it was noted that intranasal acupuncture patients had a lower recurrence rate compared to the control group, indicating better long-term effects in alleviating symptoms like nasal congestion, runny nose, and sneezing. Nonetheless, there was no marked improvement of nasal itching. It's noteworthy that some adverse effects were reported, but all were mild.

Conclusions: The findings suggest that intranasal acupuncture serves as an effective intervention for AR, particularly in alleviating both nasal and nonnasal symptoms and enhancing quality of life. However, these positive outcomes should be approached with caution, and further high-quality and extensive studies to substantiate these results are warranted.

References

Zhang Y, Lan F, Zhang L . Update on pathomechanisms and treatments in allergic rhinitis. Allergy. 2022; 77(11):3309-3319. DOI: 10.1111/all.15454. View

McDonald J, Smith P, Smith C, Xue C, Golianu B, Cripps A . Effect of acupuncture on house dust mite specific IgE, substance P, and symptoms in persistent allergic rhinitis. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2016; 116(6):497-505. DOI: 10.1016/j.anai.2016.04.002. View

Guo Y, Cai S, Deng J, Li J, Qiu L, Sun Q . Trends and hotspots of acupuncture for allergic rhinitis: A bibliometric analysis from 2002 to 2022. Complement Ther Med. 2023; 78:102984. DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2023.102984. View

Roberts G, Pfaar O, Akdis C, Ansotegui I, Durham S, Gerth van Wijk R . EAACI Guidelines on Allergen Immunotherapy: Allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. Allergy. 2017; 73(4):765-798. DOI: 10.1111/all.13317. View

Shou Y, Hu L, Zhang C, Xu S, Jin Q, Huang L . Efficacy of acupuncture at three nasal acupoints plus acupoint application for perennial allergic rhinitis: A multicenter, randomized controlled trial protocol. Trials. 2020; 21(1):110. PMC: 6986062. DOI: 10.1186/s13063-019-4039-3. View

Bousquet J, Anto J, Bachert C, Baiardini I, Bosnic-Anticevich S, Canonica G . Allergic rhinitis. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2020; 6(1):95. DOI: 10.1038/s41572-020-00227-0. View

Brozek J, Bousquet J, Agache I, Agarwal A, Bachert C, Bosnic-Anticevich S . Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) guidelines-2016 revision. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2017; 140(4):950-958. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2017.03.050. View

Chan H, Ng T . Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Allergic Diseases. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2020; 20(11):67. DOI: 10.1007/s11882-020-00959-9. View

Zhang J, Zhang Y, Huang X, Lan K, Hu L, Chen Y . Different Acupuncture Therapies for Allergic Rhinitis: Overview of Systematic Reviews and Network Meta-Analysis. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2020; 2020:8363027. PMC: 7195651. DOI: 10.1155/2020/8363027. View

10.

Passalacqua G, Bousquet P, Carlsen K, Kemp J, Lockey R, Niggemann B . ARIA update: I--Systematic review of complementary and alternative medicine for rhinitis and asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2006; 117(5):1054-62. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2005.12.1308. View

11.

Xiong P, Yuan T, Xu L, Jia B . Effect of acupuncture of sphenopalatine ganglion for the treatment of allergic rhinitis: A protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore). 2020; 99(47):e23286. PMC: 7676590. DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000023286. View

12.

Wang C, Bao Y, Chen J, Chen X, Cheng L, Guo Y . Chinese Guideline on Allergen Immunotherapy for Allergic Rhinitis: The 2022 Update. Allergy Asthma Immunol Res. 2022; 14(6):604-652. PMC: 9709690. DOI: 10.4168/aair.2022.14.6.604. View

13.

Dierick B, van der Molen T, Flokstra-de Blok B, Muraro A, Postma M, Kocks J . Burden and socioeconomics of asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis and food allergy. Expert Rev Pharmacoecon Outcomes Res. 2020; 20(5):437-453. DOI: 10.1080/14737167.2020.1819793. View

14.

Khaw C, Ramli R, Yaacob N, Md Shukri N . The prevalence of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) usage among allergic rhinitis patients in Malaysia. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2021; 279(8):3957-3962. DOI: 10.1007/s00405-021-07197-3. View

15.

Chen S, Qu S, Zhang Y, Wen Z, Guo S, Zeng W . Impact of acupuncture for allergic rhinitis on the activity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2019; 20(1):372. PMC: 6585009. DOI: 10.1186/s13063-019-3424-2. View

16.

Liu L, Gong Z, Tang L, Yan Z . A novel and alternative therapy for persistent allergic rhinitis via intranasal acupuncture: a randomized controlled trial. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2023; 280(6):2773-2783. PMC: 10175315. DOI: 10.1007/s00405-022-07793-x. View

17.

Bonizzoni G, Caminati M, Ridolo E, Landi M, Ventura M, Lombardi C . Use of complementary medicine among patients with allergic rhinitis: an Italian nationwide survey. Clin Mol Allergy. 2019; 17:2. PMC: 6373013. DOI: 10.1186/s12948-019-0107-1. View

18.

Wang L, Chen M, Xu M . Effect of posterior nasal neurectomy on the suppression of allergic rhinitis. Am J Otolaryngol. 2020; 41(3):102410. DOI: 10.1016/j.amjoto.2020.102410. View

19.

Lu J, Song Q, Zhang X, Lu Y, Wang J, Jia H . [Analysis of acupoints selection rules and efficacy evaluation of acupuncture and moxibustion for allergic rhinitis]. Zhen Ci Yan Jiu. 2023; 48(1):44-52. DOI: 10.13702/j.1000-0607.20221110. View

20.

Du S, Guo W, Yang C, Chen S, Guo S, Du S . Filiform needle acupuncture for allergic rhinitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Integr Med. 2022; 20(6):497-513. DOI: 10.1016/j.joim.2022.08.004. View