• Liting Jia, Keyi Wang, and Shuquan Chen.
• Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong Province, China.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2024 Oct 18; 103 (42): e40158e40158.

BackgroundMany individuals diagnosed with lung cancer suffer from tremendous pain, and it is crucial to implement more effective measures to assist these patients in alleviating their pain. The present study utilizes a meta-analysis to evaluate the safety and efficacy of acupuncture combined with opioids for treating lung cancer-related pain in patients.MethodsWe have searched 8 electronic databases: The Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Science and Technology Journal Database, Wanfang Database, and SinoMed. We included all randomized controlled trials of acupuncture combined with opioids for lung cancer-related pain in adults. We observed the main outcome indicators, including pain relief rates, numeric rating scale scores, and adverse events. Two researchers independently conducted literature screening, literature data extraction, and assessment of bias risk in the literature quality. Any disagreements were resolved through discussions between the 2 researchers or consultations with a third researcher. The risk of bias in the included studies was assessed using the revised risk of bias assessment tool. The overall quality of evidence for each outcome was evaluated using Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations.ResultsWe retrieved 812 lung cancer patients from 11 trials. The study showed that compared to opioids alone, the combination of acupuncture and opioids significantly reduced numeric rating scale scores, increased pain relief rates, and decreased the occurrence of side effects.ConclusionThe current evidence indicates that combining acupuncture with opioid analgesics is superior to using opioid analgesics alone for managing lung cancer-related pain. Additionally, this combination therapy has fewer adverse reactions.Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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