SynthesisFrontiers in medicine2026
Adjunctive acupuncture for sepsis-associated acute gastrointestinal injury: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and exploratory Bayesian network meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Frontiers in medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
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Abstract
Background: Acute gastrointestinal injury (AGI) is common in sepsis and is associated with multiple organ dysfunction and poor outcomes. Conventional supportive strategies often fail to restore gastrointestinal motility or adequately modulate systemic inflammation, underscoring the need for safe adjunctive interventions in critically ill patients. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis with an exploratory Bayesian network meta-analysis in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Randomized controlled trials and observational cohort studies enrolling adult patients with sepsis-associated gastrointestinal dysfunction were included. Acupuncture (electroacupuncture or manual acupuncture) as an adjunct to standard Western medical care was compared with standard care alone. No restrictions were applied to outcomes during the search phase. Risk of bias was assessed using the revised Cochrane Risk of Bias tool, version 2 (RoB 2) for randomized trials and the Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Interventions, Version 2 (ROBINS-I V2) for the non-randomized study. Pooled effect estimates were calculated using fixed- or random-effects models, with heterogeneity, publication bias, and sensitivity analyses (leave-one-out) assessed. An exploratory Bayesian network meta-analysis was also performed to compare electroacupuncture and manual acupuncture. Results: Twenty studies (19 randomized controlled trials and one retrospective cohort; Conclusion: Current evidence suggests that acupuncture, when used as an adjunct to standard care, may improve gastrointestinal function and inflammatory profiles in patients with sepsis-associated AGI, but does not confer a clear survival benefit. Given methodological limitations and substantial heterogeneity, well-designed multicenter trials with rigorous controls and clinically relevant endpoints are warranted. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42024530297, Identifier CRD42024530297.
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