• Xunlong Yin, Yuan Liu, Wu Liu, Wei Liang, and Qingyong Liang.
• Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, China.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2022 Jul 29; 101 (30): e29647e29647.

BackgroundThis study investigated the hypothesis that the efficacy of blade needle therapy for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is superior to that of conventional acupuncture. In addition, the efficacy of blade needle therapy versus conventional acupuncture for the treatment of KOA was analyzed in a meta-analysis.MethodsRandomized controlled trials (RCTs) of blade needle therapy and conventional acupuncture for treating KOA were retrieved from the electronic databases CNKL, Wanfang, VIP, PubMed, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library from the commencement of each database to July of 2021. Data were extracted and evaluated by 2 reviewers independently. RevMan 5.3 software was used to conduct the meta-analysis after the studies were evaluated.ResultsA total of 11 RCTs were included, all from China, involving 1142 patients. The meta-analysis results showed that the effective rate of the blade needle group was better than that of the conventional acupuncture group (OR = 3.61, 95% CI [2.56-5.10], P < .00001).ConclusionThe efficacy of blade needle treatment for KOA is superior to that of conventional acupuncture, but more high-quality studies are needed for future validation due to the low proportion of high-quality studies included and the possible bias factor.Copyright © 2022 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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