Objective:To evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of post-stroke depression by a meta-analysis. Methods:The randomized controlled trials of acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of post-stroke depression published up to August2019 were collected by a computerized search of CNKI

WanFang Data

VIP

China Biology Medicine disc

PubMed

Cochrane Library

and EMBASE. After literature screening

data extraction

and quality evaluation

the articles were analyzed by RevMan 5.3 software. Results:A total of 13 articles involving 989 patients were included in this study. According to the result of meta-analysis

compared with Western medicine alone

acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese medicine significantly reduced HAMD score（mean difference [MD] =-1.76

95%confidence interval [CI]:-2.60 to-0.92

Z = 4.12

P < 0.01） and NIHSS score（MD =-3.74

95% CI:-4.99 to-2.48

Z = 5.83

P < 0.01）

and significantly increased the Barthel Index（MD = 8.42

95% CI:3.28-13.57

Z = 3.21

P < 0.01） and clinical response rate（risk ratio = 1.16

95% CI:1.06-1.26

Z = 3.45

P < 0.01） in patients with post-stroke depression. Conclusion:Acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese medicine is superior to Western medicine alone in the treatment of post-stroke depression. The combination therapy can improve the depression state

repair nerve dysfunction

and improve activities of daily living with few adverse reactions. It holds promise for clinical application.