• Hyojeong Bae, Hyunsu Bae, Byung-Il Min, and Seunghun Cho.
• Department of East-West Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Hoegi-Dong No. 1, Dongdaemun-Gu, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea ; Soram Korean Medicine Hospital M Tower Building, Samsung-Dong No. 154-11, Gangnam-Gu, Seoul 135-879, Republic of Korea.
• Evid Based Compl Alt. 2014 Jan 1;2014:850367.

AbstractBackground. Acupuncture has been shown to reduce preoperative anxiety in several previous randomized controlled trials (RCTs). In order to assess the preoperative anxiolytic efficacy of acupuncture therapy, this study conducted a meta-analysis of an array of appropriate studies. Methods. Four electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and CINAHL) were searched up to February 2014. In the meta-analysis data were included from RCT studies in which groups receiving preoperative acupuncture treatment were compared with control groups receiving a placebo for anxiety. Results. Fourteen publications (N = 1,034) were included. Six publications, using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-State (STAI-S), reported that acupuncture interventions led to greater reductions in preoperative anxiety relative to sham acupuncture (mean difference = 5.63, P < .00001, 95% CI [4.14, 7.11]). Further eight publications, employing visual analogue scales (VAS), also indicated significant differences in preoperative anxiety amelioration between acupuncture and sham acupuncture (mean difference = 19.23, P < .00001, 95% CI [16.34, 22.12]). Conclusions. Acupuncture therapy aiming at reducing preoperative anxiety has a statistically significant effect relative to placebo or nontreatment conditions. Well-designed and rigorous studies that employ large sample sizes are necessary to corroborate this finding.

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