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Yujun He,1,2,* Furui Miao,2,* Cai He,1 Yushan Fan,2 Fangzhi Zhang,2 Pu Yang,3 Miaodong Wang,3 Jiujie He2 1Nancheng Branch Hospital, Ruikang Hospital Affiliated to Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning City, People’s Republic of China; 2Faculty of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Tui Na, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning City, People’s Republic of China; 3Graduate School of Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning City, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Cai He, Nancheng Branch Hospital, Ruikang Hospital Affiliated to Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, No. 356 Nanmian Street, Xixiangtang District, Nanning City, 530011, People’s Republic of China, Email 578485231@qq.com Yushan Fan, Faculty of acupuncture, moxibustion and tui Na, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, 179 Mingxiu East Road, Xi Xiang Tang District, Nanning City, 530001, People’s Republic of China, Email doctorfanyushan@163.comBackground: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most prevalent upper limb compressive neuropathy. A considerable number of clinical trials and meta-analyses have provided evidence supporting the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating CTS. Nevertheless, the ideal choice of acupoints remains ambiguous.Objective: A data mining analysis was conducted with the objective of determining the most effective acupoint combinations and selection for CTS.Methods: A search was conducted across seven Chinese and English electronic bibliographic databases spanning from their inception to March 2023. Selected were clinical trials that evaluated the efficacy of acupuncture therapy for CTS, with or without randomised controlled methods. Data extraction mainly included acupoint prescriptions. Information such as first author, study design and study setting were also extracted. The principal outcomes comprised the clinical manifestations linked to CTS. Statistical descriptions were generated using Excel 2019. The analysis of association rules was conducted using SPSS Modeler 18.0. Using SPSS Statistics 26.0, exploratory factor analysis and cluster analysis were conducted.Results: 142 trials (including 86 RCTs and 56 non RCTs) were identified, and 193 groups of effective prescriptions involving 68 acupoints were extracted. The most frequently used acupoints were Da-ling (PC7), Nei-guan (PC6), He-gu (LI4), Wai-guan (TE5), and Yang-xi (LI5). The most frequently used meridians were the pericardial meridian and the large intestine meridian. The majority of special acupoints used were Five-shu points and Yuan-source points, with acupoints on the upper limbs being the most frequently used. The core acupoint groups were analyzed and 11 groups of association rules, 8 factors, and 5 effective cluster groups were obtained.Conclusion: The evidence-based acupoint selection and combinations of acupuncture therapy for carpal tunnel syndrome were provided by the findings of this study.Keywords: acupuncture, carpal tunnel syndrome, data mining, descriptive statistics, association rule analysis, exploratory factor analysis, cluster analysis

Yujun He,1 Furui Miao,1 Yushan Fan,1 Fangzhi Zhang,1 Pu Yang,2 Xinyi Zhao,3 Miaodong Wang,2 Cai He,1 Jiujie He1 1Faculty of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Tui Na, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, People’s Republic of China; 2Graduate School, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, People’s Republic of China; 3Guangxi Zhuang Yao Medicine Center of Engineering and Technology, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yushan Fan, Faculty of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Tui Na, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, 179 Mingxiu East Road, Xi Xiang Tang District, Nanning, People’s Republic of China, Email doctorfanyushan@163.comBackground: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), as the most common compression neuropathy in the upper limb, can lead to upper limb dysfunction in patients. The effectiveness of acupuncture in treating CTS has been validated based on numerous clinical trials and meta-analyses, but questions remain, such as how to select the best acupoints. Our purpose is to conduct the first data mining analysis to identify the most effective acupoint selection and combinations for treating CTS.Methods: We will search 7 electronic bibliographic databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database and Chongqing VIP Database) from inception to March 2023. Clinical trials assessing the effectiveness of acupuncture therapy on the management of CTS will be selected. Reviews, protocols, animal trials, case reports, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses will be excluded. The primary outcome measure will be clinical result associated with CTS. Descriptive statistics will be performed in Excel 2019. Association rule analysis will be performed in SPSS Modeler 18.0. Exploratory factor analysis and cluster analysis will be performed in SPSS Statistics 26.0.Results: This study will investigate the most effective acupoint selection and combinations for patients with CTS.Conclusion: Our findings will provide evidence for the effectiveness and potential treatment prescriptions of acupoint application for patients with CTS, helping clinicians and patients make a more informed decision together.Keywords: acupuncture, carpal tunnel syndrome, data mining, descriptive statistics, association rule analysis, exploratory factor analysis, cluster analysis

Objective of this study is to perform an initial data mining analysis aimed at identifying the optimal acupoint selection and combinations for the treatment of PS.Methods: We will search 7 electronic bibliographic databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database and Chongqing VIP Database) from inception to June 2023. We will select clinical trials that evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture therapy in the management of PS. Exclusions will be made for reviews, protocols, animal trials, case reports, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. The primary outcome measure will be clinical outcomes associated with PS. Descriptive statistics will be performed in Excel 2019. Association rule analysis will be performed in SPSS Modeler 18.0. Exploratory factor analysis and cluster analysis will be performed in SPSS Statistics 26.0.Results: This study will investigate the most effective acupoint selection and combinations for patients with PS.Conclusion: Our findings will provide evidence for the effectiveness and potential treatment prescriptions of acupoint application for patients with PS, helping clinicians and patients make a more informed decision together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]