As per the findings of a systematic review and meta-analysis, acupuncture therapy significantly improves pain intensity, quality of life, clinical neuropathy, and clinical efficacy related to pain changes in patients with diabetic neuropathic pain. The researchers sought to assess the efficacy of acupuncture in alleviating pain associated with diabetic neuropathy, aiming to establish a more dependable and effective framework for integrating acupuncture into diabetes care.

The search for randomized controlled trials on acupuncture for diabetic neuropathic pain spanned various databases, including the Cochrane Library, Embase, PubMed, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Chongqing Weipu, Wanfang database, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure. Independently, two investigators conducted data extraction, quality evaluation, and literature screening. Following the selection of studies and data extraction, data analysis was done utilizing Stata 14.0 and RevMan 5.4.

The quality of the studies underwent evaluation using Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool. A thorough examination of 19 studies encompassing 1276 volunteers revealed that acupuncture effectively minimized pain intensity (Mean difference [MD]= −1.09), demonstrated positive clinical effectiveness in terms of pain alterations (Relative risk [RR]= 1.22), and alleviated clinical neuropathy [MD= −1.55] in individuals dealing with diabetic neuropathic pain.

Furthermore, there was an enhancement in the quality of life, and minimal side effects were reported. Acupuncture effectively improved pain, clinical effectiveness, and quality of life in diabetic neuropathic pain-affected patients, with minimal side effects, thus offering practical treatment recommendations.