The efficacy and safety of medical leech therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Meta-analysis published in International journal of surgery (London, England) (2018)
Abstract
BACKGROUND: It is controversial on whether medical leech therapy is effective in improving pain and functional outcome in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Therefore, we perform a meta-analysis from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the efficacy and safety of medical leech therapy in patients with knee OA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The PubMed, EMBASE, ScienceDirect, and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched for literature up to January 2018. RCTs involving medical leech therapy in patients with knee OA were included. Two independent reviewers performed independent data abstraction. The I2 statistic was used to assess heterogeneity. A fixed or random effects model was adopted for meta-analysis. All meta-analyses were performed by using STATA 12.0. RESULTS: Four RCTs with 264 patients were included in this meta-analysis. The current meta-analysis showed that there were significant differences in terms of visual analogue scale (VAS) scores and WOMAC scores at 1 week, 4weeks and 7 weeks compared with control groups. However, leech therapy was associated with a significantly higher incidence of adverse events. The overall evidence quality is moderate, which means that further research is likely to significantly change confidence in the effect estimate but may change the estimate. CONCLUSION: Medical leech therapy was associated with a significantly improved outcome in pain relief and functional recovery in patients with symptomatic knee OA. However, given the inherent limitations in the included studies, this conclusion should be interpreted cautiously.
Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.
Resumen
It is controversial on whether medical leech therapy is effective in improving pain and functional outcome in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Therefore, we perform a meta-analysis from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the efficacy and safety of medical leech therapy in patients with knee OA.
Por qué esto importa para la hirudoterapia
Este metaanálisis sintetizó cuatro ensayos controlados aleatorizados (un total de 264 pacientes) que evaluaron la terapia con sanguijuelas médicas para la osteoartritis sintomática de rodilla, reportando mejoras significativas en las puntuaciones de dolor VAS y en las puntuaciones WOMAC a las 1, 4 y 7 semanas en comparación con los controles, junto con una incidencia significativamente mayor de eventos adversos. Este estudio es directamente relevante para la hirudoterapia, ya que proporciona evidencia clínica agregada sobre la eficacia y seguridad de la aplicación de sanguijuelas medicinales para una afección musculoesquelética común, abordando la controversia continua sobre su valor terapéutico. Los autores calificaron la calidad general de la evidencia como moderada y advirtieron que las limitaciones inherentes a los estudios incluidos justifican una interpretación cuidadosa. Si bien los hallazgos respaldan el alivio del dolor y la recuperación funcional, la tasa elevada de eventos adversos y el número limitado de ensayos significan que las conclusiones siguen siendo provisionales y más RCT de alta calidad podrían alterar las estimaciones del efecto.
Citación
The efficacy and safety of medical leech therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Wang H, Zhang J, Chen L · International journal of surgery (London, England), 2018
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Añadido a la biblioteca ASH: March 18, 2026 · Última actualización del sitio: June 18, 2026