1Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, No. 1 Huangjiahu West Road, Wuhan, Hubei 430065, China

2Department of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, 1 Jianshe East Road, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, China

3Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Wuhan Integrated TCM and Western Medicine Hospital, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, No. 215 Zhongshan Avenue, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, China

4Institute of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China

*Hong-Xing Zhang: moc.nuyila@99jzxhz and

*Sheng-Hao Tu: nc.ude.umjt.hjt@uths

Academic Editor: Cheryl Hawk

Abstract

Acupuncture point application therapies, including San-Fu-Tie and San-Fu-Jiu, have been widely employed to treat diseases with attacks in winter during dog days in China. The therapies combine Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture points with the nature. However, the previous studies were reported to be unsystematic and incomplete. To develop a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of acupuncture point application therapies on allergic rhinitis and asthma, a systematic review of the literature up to 2015 was conducted. After filtering, eighteen randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 1,785 subjects were included. This systematic and narrative review shows that acupuncture point application therapies have been extensively applied in the treatment of allergic rhinitis and asthma with advantages of favorable treatment effect, convenient operation, receiving patients' good acceptability and compliance, and few side effects. Meanwhile, the study elaborated the operating process of San-Fu-Tie and San-Fu-Jiu in detail. The review may provide a reference for clinical application in future. However, the efficacy, safety, and mechanisms of San-Fu-Tie and San-Fu-Jiu in treating the above diseases need to be validated by more well-designed and fully powered RCTs in a larger population of patients.