Journal of Pain Research (Mar 2024)

A Data Mining Study for Analysis of Acupoint Selection and Combinations in Acupuncture Treatment of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

  • He Y,
  • Miao F,
  • He C,
  • Fan Y,
  • Zhang F,
  • Yang P,
  • Wang M,
  • He J

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 17
pp. 1153 – 1170

Abstract

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Yujun He,1,2,* Furui Miao,2,* Cai He,1 Yushan Fan,2 Fangzhi Zhang,2 Pu Yang,3 Miaodong Wang,3 Jiujie He2 1Nancheng Branch Hospital, Ruikang Hospital Affiliated to Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning City, People’s Republic of China; 2Faculty of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Tui Na, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning City, People’s Republic of China; 3Graduate School of Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning City, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Cai He, Nancheng Branch Hospital, Ruikang Hospital Affiliated to Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, No. 356 Nanmian Street, Xixiangtang District, Nanning City, 530011, People’s Republic of China, Email [email protected] Yushan Fan, Faculty of acupuncture, moxibustion and tui Na, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, 179 Mingxiu East Road, Xi Xiang Tang District, Nanning City, 530001, People’s Republic of China, Email [email protected]: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most prevalent upper limb compressive neuropathy. A considerable number of clinical trials and meta-analyses have provided evidence supporting the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating CTS. Nevertheless, the ideal choice of acupoints remains ambiguous.Objective: A data mining analysis was conducted with the objective of determining the most effective acupoint combinations and selection for CTS.Methods: A search was conducted across seven Chinese and English electronic bibliographic databases spanning from their inception to March 2023. Selected were clinical trials that evaluated the efficacy of acupuncture therapy for CTS, with or without randomised controlled methods. Data extraction mainly included acupoint prescriptions. Information such as first author, study design and study setting were also extracted. The principal outcomes comprised the clinical manifestations linked to CTS. Statistical descriptions were generated using Excel 2019. The analysis of association rules was conducted using SPSS Modeler 18.0. Using SPSS Statistics 26.0, exploratory factor analysis and cluster analysis were conducted.Results: 142 trials (including 86 RCTs and 56 non RCTs) were identified, and 193 groups of effective prescriptions involving 68 acupoints were extracted. The most frequently used acupoints were Da-ling (PC7), Nei-guan (PC6), He-gu (LI4), Wai-guan (TE5), and Yang-xi (LI5). The most frequently used meridians were the pericardial meridian and the large intestine meridian. The majority of special acupoints used were Five-shu points and Yuan-source points, with acupoints on the upper limbs being the most frequently used. The core acupoint groups were analyzed and 11 groups of association rules, 8 factors, and 5 effective cluster groups were obtained.Conclusion: The evidence-based acupoint selection and combinations of acupuncture therapy for carpal tunnel syndrome were provided by the findings of this study.Keywords: acupuncture, carpal tunnel syndrome, data mining, descriptive statistics, association rule analysis, exploratory factor analysis, cluster analysis

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