Background: Insomnia is the common complaint among patients with stroke. Acupuncture has increasingly been\nused for insomnia relief after stroke.\nThe aim of the present study was to summarize and evaluate evidence on the effectiveness of acupuncture in\nrelieving insomnia after stroke.\nMethods: Seven databases were searched from inception through October 2014 without language restrictions.\nRandomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included if acupuncture was compared to placebo or other conventional\ntherapy for treatment of insomnia after stroke. Assessments were performed using the Pittsburgh sleep quality\nindex (PSQI), the insomnia severity index (ISI), the Athens insomnia scale (AIS), and the efficacy standards of\nChinese medicine.\nResults: A total of 165 studies were identified; 13 RCTs met our inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis showed that\nacupuncture appeared to be more effective than drugs for treatment of insomnia after stroke, as assessed by\nthe PSQI (weighted mean difference, 4.31; 95 % confidence interval [CI], 1.67ââ?¬â??6.95; P = 0.001) and by the efficacy\nstandards of Chinese medicine (risk ratio, 1.25; 95 % CI, 1.12ââ?¬â??1.40; P < 0.001). Intradermal acupuncture had significant\neffects compared with sham acupuncture, as assessed by the ISI (weighted mean difference, 4.44; 95 % CI, 2.75ââ?¬â??6.13;\nP < 0.001) and the AIS (weighted mean difference, 3.64; 95 % CI, 2.28ââ?¬â??5.00; P < 0.001).\nConclusions: Our results suggest that acupuncture could be effective for treating insomnia after stroke. However,\nfurther studies are needed to confirm the role of acupuncture in the treatment of this disorder.
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