Effects of Acupuncture on Adverse Events in Colonoscopy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Introduction Acupuncture has gradually penetrated into many disciplines in clinical medicine, such as surgery, anesthesia, and outpatient examinations. Although a number of clinical trials have investigated the effects of acupuncture on colonoscopy, the results were inconsistent. In this meta-analysis, we analyzed the effects of acupuncture on colonoscopy to provide evidence for subsequent research and clinical application of acupuncture in colonoscopy. Methods This meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager version 5.4 and Stata version 16 software. The primary outcome was the incidence of adverse events, and the secondary outcomes included patients' anxiety score before colonoscopy, time to insert the colonoscope, total detection time, propofol consumption, patients' pain score, and patient satisfaction rate. Results The results showed that the incidence of adverse events (odds ratio [OR] 0.27, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.16-0.43, P = 0.00, I-2 = 25%), patients' pain score (mean difference [MD] - 1.03, 95% CI - 1.45 to - 0.62, P = 0.00, I-2 = 94%), and time to insert the colonoscope (MD = - 2.54, 95% CI - 4.96 to - 0.13, P = 0.04, I-2 = 0%) were significantly lower in the treatment group than in the control group. Compared with the control group, the satisfaction rate of patients (OR 2.53, 95% CI 1.56-4.10, P = 0.00, I-2 = 47%) in the treatment group was significantly improved. There was no significant between-group difference in patients' anxiety score, the total detection time, and propofol dosage. Conclusions During colonoscopy, acupuncture can significantly reduce the incidence of adverse events, relieve patients' pain, and improve patient satisfaction. Registration PROSPERO registration number CRD42022324428.