Acupuncture For Chronic Prostatitis:A Systematic Review

Objective: To systematically review the efficacy and security of acupuncture as a treatment for chronic prostatitis(CP).Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, CBM, CNKI, VIP and WanFang Data for randomized controlled trials(RCTs)on acupuncture for chronic prostatitis from inception to September 1st, 2015. According to the Cochrane methods, the reviewers screened literature, extracted data, and assessed the methodological quality of the included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.3 software.Results: Finally, 16 RCTs involving 1200 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that: compared with the sham acupuncture group, conventional medical treatment group and blank control group, the acupuncture group was superior in the effective rate and had an advantage in reducing the National Institutes of Health-Chronic Prostatitis Smyptom Index(NIH-CPSI) total score. The differences were statistically significant. Adverse events were reported in 3 trials. The mian adverse events were pain and hematomas at needling sites. No severe adverse events were reported.Conclusion: This study shows that the acupuncture group is superior in the effective rate and has an advantage in reducing the NIH-CPSI total score compared with other groups. Moreover, the adverse events of acupuncture are rare. Thus, acupuncture is likely to be both effective and safe as as a treatmnet for CP. However, more high quality RCTS are needed to firm the conclusion.