Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic form of autoimmune disease that is distinguished by systemic manifestations, persistent joint inflammation, and the production of autoantibodies. Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and corticosteroids are frequently employed to alleviate symptoms and delay the progression of the disease. Nevertheless, the inadequate efficacy of these remedies has prompted the investigation of alternative therapies, such as moxibustion. The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the efficacy of moxibustion in the management of RA. A comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis (SRMA) was conducted in adherence to the Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guideline to evaluate the effectiveness of moxibustion in the management of RA. A comprehensive search was conducted on Google Scholar and Medline (PubMed). Information on inflammatory markers, rheumatoid factor levels, morning rigidity, disease activity (DAS28 scores), and pain intensity was extracted and analyzed. Three RCTs with 164 RA patients met the inclusion criteria. Moxibustion significantly reduced pain (p-value = 0.01), DAS28 scores (p < 0.0001), and morning stiffness duration (p < 0.00001), but had no meaningful impact on rheumatoid factor (p-value = 0.43), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (p-value = 0.16), or C-reactive protein (p-value = 0.66). Moxibustion therapy offers significant clinical benefits for patients with RA, including pain reduction, improved disease activity, and alleviation of symptoms such as morning stiffness. These observations suggest that moxibustion can be a valuable complementary therapy for managing RA. However, further research, including larger randomized controlled trials and prospective cohort studies, is needed to verify its long-term effectiveness, validate these observations, and explore its broader clinical applications.

Key words: Rheumatoid arthritis, moxibustion, pain intensity, morning stiffness, systematic review