A meta‐analysis of clinical studies of moxibustion for pressure ulcer healing

Abstract

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of moxibustion on pressure ulcers. A thorough search was performed for articles published from database inception up to 14 December 2023. Randomized controlled trials, which evaluated the effects of moxibustion were included. Finally, 11 relevant trails that enrolled a total of 795 participants met inclusion criteria. The results of meta-analysis suggested beneficial effects of moxibustion for pressure ulcer compared with control on the response rate (RR: 1.21; 95% CI: 1.13–1.29; p = 0.82; I ² = 0%), healing time (MD: −5.69; 95% CI: −9.58 to −1.80; p<0.05; I ² = 97%) and pressure ulcer scale for healing scores (MD: −1.13; 95% CI: −1.36 to −0.89; p = 0.79; I ² = 0%). The evidence suggests that moxibustion possesses satisfactory efficacy in promoting healing of pressure ulcers. However, due to the small number of trials included in this study, as well as the small sample size and high risk of bias, we were unable to draw firm conclusions about the effectiveness of moxibustion for pressure ulcers.