Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Prophylactic Treatment of Migraine: A Systematic Review and Bayesian Network Meta‐Analysis

Abstract It is aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and provide evidence‐based medical support for acupuncture as a prophylactic treatment for migraines. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from inception to April 2022 are included in 14 databases. Pairwise meta‐analysis is conducted using STATA software V14.0, while Windows Bayesian Inference Using Gibbs Sampling (WinBUGS V.1.4.3) is applied to generate Bayesian Network Meta‐analysis (NMA) using Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm. Forty RCTs are included, with 4405 participants. The effectiveness of six acupuncture techniques, three types of prophylactic drugs, and psychotherapy are compared and ranked. Acupuncture outperformed prophylactic drugs in terms of diminishing visual analog scale (VAS) score, migraine attack frequency, and days during the treatment and at the 12‐week follow‐up. At the 12‐week follow‐up, the effectiveness of various interventions is ranked as follows: manual acupuncture (MA) > electroacupuncture (EA) > calcium antagonists (CA) in reducing VAS score; MA > EA > CA in reducing migraine attack frequency; MA > EA > β‐receptor blocker and CA in reducing headache attack days. Acupuncture is a promising treatment for migraine prevention. The best option of acupuncture for improving various migraine outcomes has changed over time. However, the quality of included trials and NMA inconsistency limited the credibility of the conclusion.