{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,18]],"date-time":"2026-09-18T14:07:11Z","timestamp":1789740431433,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,18]],"date-time":"2026-09-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789689600000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":17,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["81973758"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["81973758"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Scientific Research Project of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the Hebei Provincial Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine","award":["B2025006"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["B2025006"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Open"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of electroacupuncture (EA), alone or combined with conventional therapy, for peripheral facial palsy.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Design<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Systematic review and pairwise meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Data sources<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>PubMed, Embase.com, Web of Science Core Collection, the Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang Data, VIP and SinoMed\/CBM were searched from inception to 15 July 2026.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Eligibility criteria<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Chinese-language or English-language randomised trials enrolling patients with peripheral facial palsy and comparing an EA-containing regimen with a control regimen were eligible when at least one prespecified clinical outcome was reported.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Data extraction and synthesis<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Two reviewers independently screened studies, extracted data and assessed risk of bias using Cochrane RoB 1.0. Random-effects risk ratios (RRs) were used for cure and total effective rates, standardised mean differences (SMDs) for facial-function scales and a Mantel-Haenszel OR for adverse events. Control-comparator and end-of-treatment timing subgroups were explored, and certainty was assessed with Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>10 trials involving 888 participants were included. Outcomes were assessed at the end of treatment: three trials within 3 weeks, three at about 1 month and four at unclear or course-based endpoints. EA-containing regimens may improve cure and total effective rates (cure: RR 1.37, 95%\u2009CI 1.13 to 1.67; I\u00b2=57.0%; total effective rate: RR 1.21, 95%\u2009CI 1.07 to 1.36; I\u00b2=81.6%). Three independent trials reported facial function (SMD 1.91, 95%\u2009CI 0.51 to 3.30; I\u00b2=94.4%). Two trials reported adverse events (OR 0.36, 95%\u2009CI 0.11 to 1.22; I\u00b2=0%). Comparator subgroup differences were exploratory because two comparator categories contained only one study each. Certainty was low for all outcomes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>EA-containing regimens may improve short-term clinical response, but substantial heterogeneity, low-certainty evidence, variable comparators and limited follow-up preclude firm conclusions.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2026-121577","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,18]],"date-time":"2026-09-18T13:30:52Z","timestamp":1789738252000},"page":"e121577","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Effectiveness and safety of electroacupuncture combined with conventional therapy for peripheral facial palsy: a systematic review and meta-analysis"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6371-6992","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chen","family":"Zhou","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Beijing Fengtai Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Beijing, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peisen","family":"Yuan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fengtai Community Health Service Center,Fengtai District, Beijing, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jin","family":"Fang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Beijing Fengtai Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Beijing, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Junhong","family":"Gao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026091806301421000_16.9.e121577.1","first-page":"415","article-title":"Bell Palsy: Rapid Evidence Review","volume":"107","author":"Dalrymple","year":"2023","journal-title":"Am Fam Physician"},{"key":"2026091806301421000_16.9.e121577.2","article-title":"Bell\u2019s Palsy: Description, Diagnosis, and Current Management","volume":"17","author":"Gardner","year":"2025","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"2026091806301421000_16.9.e121577.3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2008","DOI":"10.1002\/lary.31997","article-title":"Increasing Incidence of Facial Nerve Disorders in the United States from 2007 to 2022","volume":"135","author":"Wei","year":"2025","journal-title":"Laryngoscope"},{"key":"2026091806301421000_16.9.e121577.4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1111\/bjhp.70018","article-title":"Social anxiety in people with facial palsy: The role of fear of negative evaluation and appearance-fixing behaviour","volume":"30","author":"Dring","year":"2025","journal-title":"Br J Health Psychol"},{"key":"2026091806301421000_16.9.e121577.5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.7717\/peerj.10449","article-title":"Assessing anxiety, depression and quality of life in patients with peripheral facial palsy: a systematic review","volume":"8","author":"Cuenca-Mart\u00ednez","year":"2020","journal-title":"PeerJ"},{"key":"2026091806301421000_16.9.e121577.6","unstructured":"Hohman MH , Warner MJ , Varacallo MA . 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