Acupuncture Combined with Speech and Language Therapy for the Treatment of Nonverbal Cognition in Post-stroke Aphasia:a Meta-analysis
Objective:To evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture combined with speech and language therapy for enhancing nonverbal cognitive function in patients with post-stroke aphasia(PSA).Methods:Randomized controlled trials(RCTs)of acupuncture combined with speech and language therapy for improving nonverbal cognitive function in patients with PSA were retrieved from PubMed,EMbase,the Cochrane Library,Web of Science,EBSCO,Scopus,China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI),WanFang Database,and China Science and Technology Journal Database(VIP)databases from inception to June 1,2022.Two researchers independently completed literature screening,data extraction,and research bias risk assessment.Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4.1 software.Results:A total of 15 RCT studies were included with 1 192 patients.The results of Meta-analysis showed that in terms of language function,the effective rate of acupuncture combined with speech and language therapy for the treatment of PSA was better than that of the control group(OR=5.15,95%CI 3.10-8.58,P<0.000 01),and the aphasia quotient(AQ)(MD=10.87,95%CI 8.16-13.59,P<0.000 01)was higher than that of control group.The Montreal Cognitive Assessment(MoCA)score(MD=3.98,95%CI 3.43-4.53,P<0.000 01)and Mini-mental State Examination(MMSE)score(MD=3.35,95%CI 0.87-5.82,P =0.008)of PSA patients after acupuncture combined with speech and language therapy were higher than those of control group;Hamilton Depression Scale(HAMD)score(MD=-8.22,95%CI-8.68--7.75,P<0.000 01),Hamilton Anxiety Scale(HAMA)score(MD=-7.47,95%CI-7.82--7.13,P<0.000 01),and Stroke Aphasia Depression Questionnaire(SADQ)score(MD=-3.95,95%CI-5.51--2.39,P<0.000 01)in treatment group were lower than those in control group.Conclusion:The available evidence suggests that acupuncture combined with speech and language therapy can effectively improve the nonverbal cognitive function of PSA patients,concurrently alleviating their levels of anxiety and depression.The improvement of nonverbal cognitive function may be accompanied by the improvement of language function.
post-stroke aphasiaacupuncturespeech and language therapynonverbal cognitive functionemotion disordersMeta-analysis