BACKGROUND: The efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of dysphagia caused by pseudobulbar paralysis after stroke is lack of evidence-based medicine. Our objective was to synthesize the efficacy of acupuncture in treating dysphagia caused by pseudobulbar paralysis after stroke. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was performed in 9 databases [PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane, Chinese BioMedical Literature Database (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WanFang Data, Chinese Science and Technology Periodicals database (VIP), and Open Grey online database] to screen eligible randomized controlled studies that evaluated the effect of acupuncture in dysphagia caused by pseudobulbar paralysis after stroke. The search time limit is from establishing the database to October 1, 2020. The random-effects model was used to calculate the significant effect size. RESULTS: A total of 7 studies comprising 637 participants were included in our meta-analysis. The results showed that compared with rehabilitation, acupuncture had a significant effect on improving dysphagia caused by pseudobulbar paralysis after stroke (the significant effective size: risk ratio (RR)sig = 1.51; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.30 to 1.75; I2 = 0%). In the subgroup analyses, the RRsig of acupuncture plus rehabilitation versus rehabilitation was 1.56 (95% CI 1.30 to 1.87; I2 = 0%), and the RRsig of acupuncture versus rehabilitation was 1.38 (95% CI 1.08 to 1.76; I2 = 0.8%). DISCUSSION: Acupuncture can be used as an effective treatment for dysphagia caused by pseudobulbar paralysis after stroke. Acupuncture combined with rehabilitation therapy has better effects.

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