Dysphagia Improvement Using Acupuncture Therapy: A Systematic Review

Background. Dysphagia is a common complication in patients with stroke. The research on acupuncture treatment of dysphagia has increased, but the results are not consistent. In this review we intend to answer “what is the potential of acupuncture in treating dysphagia in stroke patients and which acupuncture points are the most promising for treating dysphagia?” Methods. This systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines. A comprehensive literature search was performed in 4 databases [PubMed, Sciencedirect, Cochrane, and Willey online library] to screen eligible randomized controlled studies that evaluated the effect of acupuncture in post-stroke dysphagia. The search time limit is from 2010 to 2022. Study quality was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) and the risk of bias was assessed by the RoB2 tool. The data were analyzed thematically. Results. A systematic electronic search identified 1,409 publications through forward and backward searching of relevant papers. A full-text screening was conducted on 777 articles. A total of 681 articles failed to meet eligibility criteria at the full-text screening stage, and only 6 articles were finally eligible for further analysis. The results showed that compared with rehabilitation, acupuncture had a significant effect on improving dysphagia on post-stroke patients. GallBladder (GB 20) is the place most often used as an acupoint. In addition, the frequency and duration of treatment also contributed to a more significant increase in dysphagia improvement. Conclusion. Acupuncture could effectively improve dysphagia in post-stroke patients, and acupuncture combined with rehabilitation has a better effect.