Trial reportBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2004
Cost effectiveness analysis of a randomised trial of acupuncture for chronic headache in primary care.
Trial report in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2004. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03250754 (Treatment of Headache Disorders With Acupuncture), which is not on this map. Cited by 42 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Treatment of Headache Disorders With Acupuncture: Observational Study (HDACU)
Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 175 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparative efficacy and safety of multiple acupuncture therapies for post stroke cognitive impairment: a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Pooled it
- Effectiveness and Safety of Acupuncture for Vascular Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2021Pooled it
- Acupuncture for the prevention of tension-type headache.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2016Pooled it
- Acupuncture for chronic pain: individual patient data meta-analysis.Archives of internal medicine · 2012Pooled it
- Acupuncture for migraine prophylaxis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2009Pooled it
- Acupuncture for tension-type headache.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2009Pooled it
- Cost effectiveness of complementary treatments in the United Kingdom: systematic review.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2005Pooled it
- Is complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) cost-effective? A systematic review.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2005Pooled it
- Trial
- Trial
- A randomized study of telephonic care support in populations at risk for musculoskeletal preference-sensitive surgeries.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2013Trial
- Health economic evaluation of acupuncture along meridians for treating migraine in China: results from a randomized controlled trial.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2012Trial
- Traditional acupuncture for people with medically unexplained symptoms: a longitudinal qualitative study of patients' experiences.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2011Trial
- Acupuncture for 'frequent attenders' with medically unexplained symptoms: a randomised controlled trial (CACTUS study).The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2011Trial
- Escitalopram and duloxetine in major depressive disorder: a pharmacoeconomic comparison using UK cost data.PharmacoEconomics · 2008Trial
- A randomised controlled trial of acupuncture care for persistent low back pain: cost effectiveness analysis.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2006Trial
- Acupuncture modulates migraine-related neural and neuroendocrine regulatory pathways.The journal of headache and pain · 2026Review
- The Mechanisms of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Cancer Patients and Survivors: A Systematic Review.Psychology of consciousness (Washington, D.C.) · 2023Article
- Bibliometric Analysis of 100 Most Highly Cited Publications on Acupuncture for Migraine.Journal of pain research · 2023Article
- Mapping between headache specific and generic preference-based health-related quality of life measures.BMC medical research methodology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo evaluate the cost effectiveness of acupuncture in the management of chronic headache.
designCost effectiveness analysis of a randomised controlled trial.
settingGeneral practices in England and Wales.
participants401 patients with chronic headache, predominantly migraine. Interventions Patients were randomly allocated to receive up to 12 acupuncture treatments over three months from appropriately trained physiotherapists, or to usual care alone.
main outcome measureIncremental cost per quality adjusted life year (QALY) gained.
resultsTotal costs during the one year period of the study were on average higher for the acupuncture group (403 pounds sterling; 768 dollars; 598 euros) than for controls (217 pounds sterling) because of the acupuncture practitioners' costs. The mean health gain from acupuncture during the one year of the trial was 0.021 quality adjusted life years (QALYs), leading to a base case estimate of 9180 pounds sterling per QALY gained. This result was robust to sensitivity analysis. Cost per QALY dropped substantially when the analysis incorporated likely QALY differences for the years after the trial.
conclusionsAcupuncture for chronic headache improves health related quality of life at a small additional cost; it is relatively cost effective compared with a number of other interventions provided by the NHS.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.