BACKGROUND Dry eye disease (DED) has a higher incidence in old age and is seen predominantly in females worldwide. Neurosensory abnormalities, ocular surface inflammation and damage, film instability, and hyperosmolarity are major and proven pathologies responsible for a poor quality of life. Tear breakup time and Schirmer's I test are predominantly used for the evaluation of primary outcomes in patients undergoing conventional treatment. A previous meta-analysis of some relevant studies proved that combination of acupoints could be more effective than single acupoint treatment. OBJECTIVES The present study aimed to undertake association rule mining and examined the potential kernel acupoint combination in DED treatment constructed from the extracted randomized controlled trials (RCTs) based on a previous meta-analysis. METHODS We summarized 32 acupoints as binary data from the 12 eligible RCTs and analyzed them based on the Apriori algorithm. RESULTS TE23, BL2, ST2, ST1, EX-HN5, BL1, LI4, ST36, SP6, and KI3 were the 10 most frequently selected acupoints. The major associated rules in combination of acupoints were {TE23, LI4} ≥ {ST1} and {TE23, ST1} ≥ {LI4}, as inferred from 23 association rules. CONCLUSIONS For acupuncture treatment of DED, combined TE23, LI4, and ST1 acupoints could be settled as the kernel of acupoint combination.

中文翻译：

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联合腧穴治疗干眼症的关联规律分析

背景干眼病（DED）在老年人中的发病率较高，并且主要见于全世界的女性。神经感觉异常、眼表炎症和损伤、薄膜不稳定性和高渗性是导致生活质量差的主要和已证实的病理。撕裂破裂时间和 Schirmer's I 测试主要用于评估接受常规治疗的患者的主要结果。先前对一些相关研究的荟萃分析证明，穴位组合可能比单一穴位治疗更有效。目的 本研究旨在进行关联规则挖掘，并根据先前的荟萃分析，从提取的随机对照试验 (RCT) 中构建 DED 治疗中的潜在核心穴位组合。方法 我们从 12 个符合条件的 RCT 中总结出 32 个穴位作为二进制数据，并基于 Apriori 算法对其进行分析。结果TE23、BL2、ST2、ST1、EX-HN5、BL1、LI4、ST36、SP6、KI3是最常选择的10个穴位。由23条关联规则推断，穴位组合的主要关联规则为{TE23，LI4}≥{ST1}和{TE23，ST1}≥{LI4}。结论 针刺治疗DED，可将TE23、LI4、ST1联合腧穴作为腧穴组合的核心。从 23 条关联规则推断。结论 针刺治疗DED，可将TE23、LI4、ST1联合腧穴作为腧穴组合的核心。从 23 条关联规则推断。结论 针刺治疗DED，可将TE23、LI4、ST1联合腧穴作为腧穴组合的核心。