Auricular acupuncture treatment for insomnia: a systematic review.
OBJECTIVE
To review trials on the efficacy and safety of auricular acupuncture (AA) treatment for insomnia and to identify the most commonly used auricular acupoints for treating insomnia in the studies via a frequency analysis.


METHODS
The international electronic databases searched included: (1) AMED; (2) the Cochrane library; (3) CINAHL; (4) EMBASE; and (5) MEDLINE. Chinese electronic databases searched included: (1) VIP Information; (2) CBMdisc; and (3) CNKI.


METHODS
Any randomized controlled trials using AA as an intervention without using any co-interventions for insomnia were included. Studies using AA versus no treatment, placebo, sham AA, or Western medicine were included.


METHODS
Two (2) independent reviewers were responsible for data extraction and assessment. The efficacy of AA was estimated by the relative risk (RR) using a meta-analysis.


RESULTS
Eight hundred and seventy eight (878) papers were searched. Six (6) trials (402 treated with AA among 673 participants) that met the inclusion criteria were retrieved. A meta-analysis showed that AA was chosen with a higher priority among the treatment subjects than among the controls (p < 0.05). The recovery and improvement rates produced by AA was significantly higher than those of diazepam (p < 0.05). The rate of success was higher when AA was used for enhancement of sleeping hours up to 6 hours in treatment subjects (p < 0.05). The efficacy of using Semen vaccariae ear seeds was better than that of the controls (p < 0.01); while magnetic pearls did not show statistical significance (p = 0.28). Six (6) commonly used auricular acupoints were Shenmen (100%), Heart (83.33%), Occiput (66.67%), Subcortex (50%), Brain and Kidney (each 33.33%, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
AA appears to be effective for treating insomnia. Because the trials were low quality, further clinical trials with higher design quality, longer duration of treatment, and longer follow-up should be conducted.
Chen
Hai Yong
HY
School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong. hoiyong@gmail.com
Shi
Yan
Y
Ng
Chi Sun
CS
Chan
Sai Man
SM
Yung
Ken Kin Lam
KK
Zhang
Qing Ling
QL
D015669:Acupuncture Points; D020831:Acupuncture, Ear / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D012107:Research Design; D012890:Sleep; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome