Fire Needle Therapy for the Treatment of Psoriasis: A Quantitative Evidence Synthesis

Background: Fire needle therapy is a method of quickly piercing into acupoints with red-hot needles to treat diseases. Recently, multiple studies have reported that fire needle therapy is effective in the treatment of psoriasis; however, there are few articles systematically evaluating the effect of this therapy. Therefore, this systematic and meta-analysis study is conducted to estimate the efficacy and safety of fire needle therapy for psoriasis. Methods: PubMed, Embase, CNKI, VIP, CBM, CENTRAL, and Wan Fang databases were systematically searched from the dates of construction of these databases to August 24, 2019, and randomized controlled trials assessing patients with psoriasis who were treated with fire needle therapy alone or in combination with other drugs were also evaluated. Results: Fire needle therapy was effective in treating psoriasis (p = 0.0002; risk ratio [RR], 1.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.09-1.33) with a lower recurrence rate (p = 0.005; RR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.29-0.80). Adverse events after fire needle treatment were similar to those without fire needle treatment (p = 0.38; RR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.28-1.63). After fire needle treatment, the number of cluster of differentiation (CD)8+T cells, type 1 helper cells, interleukin (IL)-2, and interferon (IFN)-γ decreased, whereas the number of CD4+T cells, type 2 helper cells, IL-4, IL-10, and the proportion of CD4+T cells and CD8+T cells increased. Conclusions: Fire needle therapy, specifically in combination with oral medicines, is effective in treating patients with psoriasis with low recurrence rates.