Acupoint Selection Rules in Treatment of Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting with Acupuncture and Moxibustion

Objective: To analyze the acupoint selection rules in acupuncture treatment for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in China through data mining technology. Methods: The relevant literature on acupuncture treatment for CINV were searched from SinoMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, VIP and Pubmed databases from the establishment to January 3, 2021 and the worksheet was set up for the information extraction of acupuncture-moxibustion prescriptions. Using IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0 and SPSS Modeler 18.0 software, cluster analysis and associ-ation rule analysis were conducted to explore the rules of acupoint selection. Results: A total of 179 articles were eligible, including 206 acupuncture prescriptions and 64 acupoints. The total use frequency of acupoints was 784 times. The acupoints with the highest use frequency were Zusanli ((SIC)ST36), Zhongwan ((SIC)CV12) and Neiguan ((SIC) PC6). The commonly used meridians in-cluded stomach meridian of foot-yangming, conception vessel, pericardium meridian of hand-jueyin and bladder meridian of foot-taiyang. The acupoints located on the chest, the abdomen and the lower limbs were mostly selected. Five-shu points and crossing points were highly involved in terms of the specific points. The most common combination was ST36, CV12 and PC6. Conclusion: In treatment of acupuncture for CINV, the acupoints were generally selected from stomach meridian of foot-yangming, conception vessel, pericardium meridian of hand-jueyin. Front-mu points on the chest and the abdomen, the he-sea points and lower he-sea points in the lower limbs are commonly used. The core acupoint prescription of acupuncture for CINV included ST36, CV12 and PC6. (C) 2021 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of World Journal of Acupuncture Moxibustion House.