Meta-analysis and sequential analysis of acupuncture compared to carbamazepine in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia

Table 1 Basic features included in the literature

Ref.	Sample	Literature type	Random ratio	Intervention measures		Main outcome measures	Needle retention time	Treatment frequency	Course of treatment	Main conclusion
Chen and He[38] (2021)	90	RCT	1:1	Treatment group	Control group	VAS	30 min	Once a day	4 wk	+
Chi et al[39] (2021)	88	RCT	1:1	Acupuncture	Carbamazepine	VAS/adverse event	20 min	Once a day	1 mo	+
Niu[40] (2021)	63	RCT	1:1	Acupuncture	Carbamazepine	VAS/adverse event	30 min	Once a day	30 d	+
Qin[41] (2021)	62	RCT	1:1	Acupuncture	Carbamazepine	VAS	20 min	Once a day	1 mo	+
Wang and Zeng[42] (2021)	100	RCT	1:1	Acupuncture	Carbamazepine	VAS	30 min	Once a day	30 d	+
Wang[43] (2020)	60	RCT	1:1	Acupuncture	Carbamazepine	VAS	20 min	Once a day	3 mo	+
Ta[44] (2020)	82	RCT	1:1	Acupuncture	Carbamazepine	VAS	30 min	Once a day	30 wk	+
Zhang et al[45] (2019)	62	RCT	1:1	Acupuncture	Carbamazepine	VAS	30 min	Once a day	90 d	+
Hao et al[46] (2019)	80	RCT	1:1	Acupuncture	Carbamazepine	VAS/adverse event	-	Once a day	-	+
Wu et al[47] (2019)	100	RCT	1:1	Acupuncture	Carbamazepine	VAS/adverse event	40 min	Once a day	4 wk	+
Xu and Wang[48] (2019)	84	RCT	1:1	Acupuncture	Carbamazepine	VAS/adverse event	20 min	Once a day	4 wk	+
Mu[49] (2019)	80	RCT	1:1	Acupuncture	Carbamazepine	VAS	20 min	Once a day	30 d	+
Wu and Sun[50] (2019)	60	RCT	1:1	Acupuncture	Carbamazepine	VAS	30 min	Once a day	4 wk	+
Liu and Liu[51] (2019)	40	RCT	1:1	Acupuncture	Carbamazepine	VAS	30 min	Once a day	30 d	+
Wang[52] (2019)	60	RCT	1:1	Acupuncture	Carbamazepine	VAS	30 min	Once a day	30 d	-
Si[53] (2018)	120	RCT	1:1	Acupuncture	Carbamazepine	VAS	30 min	Once a day	30 d	+

RCT: Randomized controlled trial; VAS: Visual analog scale.