Figure 1
Flowchart of the trial selection process.
Figure 2
Risk of bias summary: reviewers' judgments about each risk of bias item for each included study.
Figure 3
Risk of bias graph: reviewers' judgments about each risk of bias item presented as percentages across all included studies.
Figure 4
Routine care vs routine care plus AA on response rate.
AA, auricular acupressure.
Table 1
Summary of the RCTs of AA for treating constipation in BC patients undergoing chemotherapy.
| Study | Sample size | Intervention (regimen) group | Control (regimen) group | Main outcomes | Acupuncture points | AEs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shin and Park17 | 52 | (A) AA (one session = 20 minutes, three times/day, total 20 days, n = 26), plus (B) | (B) Routine care, n = 26 | CAS PAC-QOL | Rectum, large intestine, lung, and San Jiao | Mild pain, mild discomfort |
| Wang et al18 | 60 | (A) AA (one session = 25 minutes, three times/day, total 18 days, n = 30), plus (B) | (B) Routine care, n = 30 | Response rate | Rectum, large intestine, lung, San Jiao, and subcortex | n.r |
| Xu et al19 | 90 | (A) AA (one session = 30 minutes, three times/day, total 18 days, n = 45), plus (B) | (B) Routine care, n = 45 | Response rate | Rectum, large intestine, lung, San Jiao, and subcortex | n.r |
| Feng et al20 | 120 | (A) AA (one session = 30 minutes, three times/day, total 20 days, n = 60), plus (B) | (B) Routine care, n = 60 | Response rate | Rectum, large intestine, lung, San Jiao, and subcortex | n.r |