The efficacy of acupuncture combined with other therapies in post stroke cognitive impairment: A network meta-analysis

Background: The network meta-analysis was used to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture combined with other therapies in the treatment of post stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI). Methods: The China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang DATA, Vip Chinese Periodic Service Platform, PUBMED, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Embase were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published before March 18, 2023. Two researchers independently reviewed articles and extracted data, and then qualified papers were included in the study. STATA 14.0 was used for network meta-analysis. Results: A total of 29 articles including 2241 patients were included in this study. The treatment of the intervention group includes acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions (TCMP), acupuncture combined with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO), acupuncture combined with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), acupuncture combined with cognitive rehabilitation (CR), acupuncture combined with donepezil. The intervention of the control group includes acupuncture, HBO, rTMS, CR, TCMP, and donepezil. In terms of improving the score of Minimum Mental State Examination (MMSE), acupuncture combined with TCMP was most likely to be the best treatment ( P < .05). In terms of improving the score of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), acupuncture combined with TCMP was most likely to be the best treatment ( P < .05). In terms of improving the total effective rate of clinical treatment, acupuncture combined with rTMS was most likely to be the best treatment ( P < .05). Conclusion: Acupuncture combined with TCMP may be the best treatment method among all of the above treatments for PSCI.