Unveiling the latest evidence: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis and GRADE assessment on the effectiveness of acupressure in managing labor pain

Table 3 GRADE evidence profile

Certainty assessment							№ of patients		Effect		Certainty	Importance
№ of studies	Study design	Risk of bias	Inconsistency	Indirectness	Imprecision	Other considerations	[Acupressure]	[Comparison]	Relative (95% CI)	Absolute (95% CI)	Certainty	Importance
Effect of Acupressure versus touch
15	randomised trials	serious^a	not serious^b	not serious	not serious	publication bias strongly suspected^c	699	702	-	MD 1.19 lower (1.66 lower to 0.72 lower)	⨁⨁◯◯ Low	CRITICAL
Effect of Acupressure versus Sham
5	randomised trials	serious^a	serious^d	not serious	not serious	none	255	255	-	MD 1.41 lower (2.55 lower to 0.27 lower)	⨁⨁◯◯ Low	CRITICAL
Effect of Acupressure versus no intervention
25	randomised trials	serious^a	not serious^b	not serious	not serious	none	978	991	-	MD 2.32 lower (2.87 lower to 1.76 lower)	⨁⨁⨁◯ Moderate	CRITICAL

CI: confidence interval
Explanations
^aMajority of included studies have high or unclear risk
^bAlthough that heterogeneity is high, the heterogeneity is caused by differences in the magnitude of effectiveness rather than by effectiveness and ineffectiveness
^cThe funnel plot analysis indicated a potential publication bias
^dSignificant heterogeneity exists

ISSN: 2662-7671