Studies have demonstrated the effect of
acupoint-based interventions in relieving the clinical symptoms of
asthma. However, the effect of meridian-based interventions in
asthma symptom relief is unknown. This systematic review and meta-analysis determined the effect of multiplex meridian interventions in
asthma symptom relief. Eight electronic databases were searched for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that involved patients with
asthma, were published before March 2018, used
acupoint stimulation interventions targeting
acupoints that correspond to
meridians, and considered
asthma symptom relief as an outcome. In 204 RCTs that were identified and used in a meta-synthesis,
meridians were used 521 times, with the bladder meridian being the most frequently used. Furthermore, 23 RCTs were included in the meta-analysis. Egger's and inconsistency tests revealed no significant differences among the studies (P>0.05). However, the interventions differed significantly in terms of
asthma symptom relief effect, as demonstrated by pairwise (odds ratio [OR]=0.28, 95% confidence interval=0.21-0.37) and network (OR=0.18, 95% credibility interval=0.08-0.41) meta-analyses. Surface under the cumulative ranking (SUCRA) revealed that the bladder-conception vessel-governor vessel-stomach multiplex meridian intervention was more effective than non-meridian interventions in relieving
asthma symptoms. Additionally, either bladder-conception vessel-stomach or bladder-conception vessel-governor vessel-kidney multiplex
meridians may be selected in interventions. This study suggests that practitioners target multiplex
meridians, especially the
meridians of the bladder and conception vessel, to effectively relieve
asthma symptoms.