Review Article

Effectiveness and Safety of Acupuncture for Migraine: An Overview of Systematic Reviews

Table 1

Characteristics of included SRs.

First author and year of publicationIncluded study designNo. of studyNo. of patientDiagnostic criteriaInterventionComparatorOutcomesAssessment of methodological qualityMeta-analysis conducted?Subgroup analysis conducted?Sensitivity analysis conducted?Safety

Gao (2011)RCT121744IHS; ICHD-10AcupunctureSham acupunctureEffective rate; headache daysJadad scaleYesYesNoNR
Zheng (2012)RCT333593NRAcupunctureHerbs; sham acupunctureEffective rateCochrane risk of bias toolYesYesNoNR
Chen (2014)RCT181672IHSAcupunctureMedications (flunarizine, ibuprofen, nimodipine, naproxen, ergotamine caffeine); herbsEffective rate; headache frequency; headache intensity and duration; accompanying symptomsCochrane risk of bias toolYesYesYesYes
Yang (2014)RCT10893NRAcupunctureFlunarizineShort-term effect; long-term effect; headache scoreNRYesNoNoYes
Zhao (2014)RCT171719NREAMedicationsEffective rate; VASCochrane risk of bias toolYesYesNoYes
Dai (2015)RCT2140IHSAcupunctureMedications (flunarizine, nimodipine)Cure rate; effective rateJadad scaleYesNoNoNR
Yang (2015)RCT10997IHSAcupunctureSham acupunctureEffective rate; headache intensity; headache frequency; headache duration; medication use; accompanying symptomsCochrane risk of bias toolYesYesNoYes
Linde (2016)RCT224985IHSAcupunctureSham interventions; medications (metoprolol, flunarizine, valproic acid); waiting listHeadache frequency; the proportion of “responders”Cochrane risk of bias toolYesYesNoNR
Pu J (2016)RCT5618NRAcupunctureSham acupunctureVASCochrane risk of bias toolYesNoNoNo
Pu (2016)RCT71285IHSAcupunctureMedications (flunarizine, valproate, topiramate, metoprolol)Effective rate; headache frequency; headache intensity; medication useCochrane risk of bias toolYesNoYesYes
Song (2016)RCT181470IHS; ICHDAcupuncture; EAMedications (flunarizine, ibuprofen, nimodipine, metoprolol); placeboLong-term effective rate; short-term effective rate; headache daysCochrane risk of bias toolYesYesYesYes
Xian (2016)RCT263657IHS; ICHDAcupunctureSham acupuncture; medications (flunarizine, sodium valproate, metoprolol, topiramate, nimodipine)Effective rate; headache frequency; VAS; medication use; PDI; MIDAS; PF-SF36; MH-SF36Cochrane risk of bias toolYesNoYes
Zhao (2016)RCT181268IHSAcupuncture; auricular acupuncture; EAMedications (celecoxib, flunarizine, aspirin, ibuprofen, somedon); herbsEffective rate; VAS; headache intensity; headache frequencyCochrane risk of bias toolYesYesYes
Xu (2018)RCT141155ICHDAcupuncture; EAMedications (ergotamine, ibuprofen, flunarizine, nimodipine); sham acupunctureFrequency of migraine attacks; number of migraine days; VAS; effective rateCochrane risk of bias toolYesNoNoYes
Lu (2019)RCT172226ICHD-3Acupuncture; EASham acupuncture; medications (ergotamine, flunarizine, nimodipine)Frequency of migraine attacks; duration of migraine; headache intensityCochrane risk of bias toolYesYesYesNR

IHS = International Headache Society; ICHD = International Classification of Headache Disorders; NR = no report; AA = auricular acupuncture; EA = electro-acupuncture; acupuncture = classical manual acupuncture; VAS = Visual Analogue Scale/Score; PDI = Pain Disability Index; MIDAS = the Migraine Disability Assessment; SF-36/12 = Short Form 36/12 Questionnaire.