[Effect and safety of electroacupuncture in the treatment of chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 17 randomized controlled trials].

OBJECTIVE

To systematically evaluate the effect and safety of electroacupuncture in the treatment of chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS).

METHODS

We searched the major Chinese and English databases of CNKI, Wanfang Data, VIP, CBM, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and Embase for randomized controlled trials (RCT) on electroacupuncture or combination therapy in the treatment of CP/CPPS published from the establishment of the databases to August 2024. The dichotomous data and continuous data were represented by risk ratio (RR) and mean difference (MD) respectively, both with 95% confidence interval (CI). We analyzed the data with the Revman (v.5.4) software and assessed the quality of the evidence in each RCT using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system (GRADE).

RESULTS

Totally 17 RCTs were identified, involving 1 404 cases of CP/CPPS treated by electroacupuncture or combination of electroacupuncture with medication or with other therapies (the trial group) or by medication with Western or Chinese drugs alone (the control group). Compared with the control group, the trial group showed a significantly higher rate of clinical effectiveness (RR = 1.25; 95% CI: 1.18－1.32; P < 0.05), decreased CPSI scores (MD =－4.56; 95% CI:－5.01－－4.11; P < 0.05), improved CPSI-pain, -urination and -quality of life scores, and increased maximum and average urinary flow rates. And electroacupuncture did not increase the likelihood of adverse reactions.

CONCLUSION

Medium-quality evidence suggests that electroacupuncture is beneficial complementary and alternative therapy for CP/CPPS, with a significant advantage in improving the NIH-CPSI scores of the patients. However, more high-quality multi-centered RCTs with larger sample sizes are still needed to further verify the effect of electroacupuncture on CP/CPPS.