Clinical effect and contributing factors of acupuncture for knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and pairwise and exploratory network meta-analysis
Objectives This study aims to evaluate (1) the effect and safety of acupuncture in patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) and explore (2) whether the effect of acupuncture differed according to acupuncture type, acupuncture dose and follow-up time. Design Systematic review and pairwise and exploratory network meta-analysis. Setting PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals and Wanfang from inception to 13 November 2023. Participants Randomised controlled trials comparing acupuncture with sham acupuncture, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), usual care or waiting list groups, intra-articular (IA) injection and blank groups in patients with KOA. Interventions Eligible interventions included manual acupuncture (MA) and electroacupuncture (EA). Main outcomes measures The primary outcome was pain intensity at the e
