matching recombination indirect comparisons and network meta-analysis between syndrome differentiation-based acupuncture or not for primary insomnia

To evaluate the importance of point selection based on syndrome differentiation by re-analyzing the trials' results in treating primary insomnia with acupuncture. We systematically searched 9 databases for eligible trials. Two authors extracted data independently from citations, interventions, and outcomes. Since the "treatment acupuncture" and "control acupuncture" data compared in this study were from different trials, we matched the data in a 1:1 ratio and minimized heterogeneity between the paired groups. Matching factors included age, sex ratio, and the baseline Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score. Meta-analyses were performed using Revman 5.4 software. Effect estimation presented continuous data with a standard mean difference (SMD) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Besides the recombination indirect comparison, STATA 15.0 was used for network meta-analysis of all included trials. In this dataset, we summarized all the information from 172 included trials, including the main data needed for our meta analysis.