Characteristics of clinical application of electroacupuncture therapy for peripheral neuropathy based on data mining

Objective To investigate the application characteristics of electroacupuncture (EA) in the treatment of peripheral neuropathy, so as to provide a basis for clinical use of EA therapy. Methods Keywords of electroacupunctureperipheral sciatica common peroneal nerve injury diabetic peripheral intercostal gluteal epithelial neuritis ulnar nerve injury median nerve postherpetic neuralgia, and great occipital were used to search articles in both English and Chinese published from 1999 to 2019 in databases of CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, CBM, Ovid, PubMed and Embase and related books such as electroacupuncture, and neurology, followed by establishing a database of Electroacupuncture Treatment of Peripheral Neuropathy. Then, the collected articles were put into statistical analysis after sorting, screening, input, checking, and data extracting by using data mining technology and statistical software EpiData. Results Of the searched 1 528 papers, 778 were eligible, involving 13 types of peripheral neuropathy which the facial paralysis and facial spasm were most frequently seen, followed by trigeminal neuralgia and sciatica, with an effective rate being above 90% for nearly all the 13 diseases. The acupoints employed were chiefly those close to the affected area and distribute along the nerve trunk.In addition, about the needling techniques, the penetration needling was frequently used, and the triple needling, quintuple needling and accompanied needling were also used. Regarding the related needle manipulations, the uniform reinforcing-reduction technique was most frequently used. The duration of EA was 30 min, with a highest stimulating frequency of 50 Hz. The acupoint injection was frequently supplemented, followed by moxibustion, and the treatment sessions were usually about 30 times. Conclusion EA therapy is frequently used in the treatment of peripheral neuropathy, and has some characteristics in acupoint selection, stimulating parameters and some additional needling techniques.