Efficacy of Acupuncture for the Treatment of Fibromyalgia: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The study sought to ascertain the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for fibromyalgia MATERIALS AND METHODS: THE FOLLOWING ELECTRONIC DATABASES WERE SEARCHED: PubMed; The Cochrane Library (CENTRAL); EMBASE; CINAHL; and Pascal Biomed (last date of search: January 2008). We analyzed pain intensity and patient withdrawals prior to termination of the study. A meta-analysis was performed, and a weighted global effect obtained using the inverse of variance. RESULTS: This review covered a total of 6 studies (323 subjects). No statistically significant differences were observed in terms of pain intensity (VAS): 0.02 (-0.24 a 0.28) or withdrawals: RR 0.91 (0.53 a 1.58) CONCLUSION: This systematic review found no evidence of benefit resulting from acupuncture versus placebo, as a treatment for fibromyalgia.