Clinical efficacy and safety of acupuncture treatment of TIC disorder in children: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 22 randomized controlled trials

•Acupuncture treatment was better than pharmaceutical treatment alone in terms of total clinical effective rate.•The Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) is a clinician-rated instrument, which has been regarded as the gold standard for assessing tics in patients with Tic Disorders.•Electroacupuncture showed significant reduction in YGTSS scores compared to pharmaceutical treatment.•There was no significant difference between manual acupuncture and pharmaceutical treatment in terms of YGTSS scores.•Acupuncture produced lower incidence of adverse reactions and recurrence compared to pharmaceutical treatment for TD.