Clinical efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with electroacupuncture at Baliao points for functional constipation: a retrospective study.

In this retrospective, non-randomized cohort, adding rTMS to electroacupuncture at Baliao points was associated with greater improvements in bowel frequency, symptom severity, quality of life and colonic transit, with comparable safety, and these associations were robust to propensity-score and multivariable adjustment.

Given the absence of randomization, sham control and blinding, the findings should be interpreted as exploratory and hypothesis-generating and require confirmation in adequately powered, sham-controlled randomized trials.