Evidence map›Paper›PMID 17324253›Full record

Trial reportBMC complementary and alternative medicine2007

The effect of TCM acupuncture on hot flushes among menopausal women (ACUFLASH) study: a study protocol of an ongoing multi-centre randomised controlled clinical trial.

Einar K Borud, Terje Alraek, Adrian White, Vinjar Fonnebo, Sameline Grimsgaard

Open access · goldAbstract readControlled Clinical TrialMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 2007. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
2.9field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 32 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Integrating acupuncture into cancer care.Journal of traditional and complementary medicine · 2013
    Review
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Einar K BorudNational Research Center in Complementary and Alternative Medicine, University of Tromsoe, N-9037 Tromsoe, Norway. einar.borud@fagmed.uit.no
Terje Alraek
Adrian White
Vinjar Fonnebo
Sameline Grimsgaard
UiT The Arctic University of Norway · NOPeninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry · GBUniversity Hospital of North Norway · NO

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAfter menopause, 10-20% of all women have nearly intolerable hot flushes. Long term use of hormone replacement therapy involves a health risk, and many women seek alternative strategies to relieve climacteric complaints. Acupuncture is one of the most frequently used complementary therapies in Norway. We designed a study to evaluate whether Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncture-care together with self-care is more effective than self-care alone to relieve climacteric complaints. METHODS/

designThe study is a multi-centre pragmatic randomised controlled trial with two parallel arms. Participants are postmenopausal women who document > or =7 flushes/24 hours and who are not using hormone replacement therapy or other medication that may influence flushes. According to power calculations 200 women are needed to detect a 50% reduction in flushes, and altogether 286 women will be recruited to allow for a 30% dropout rate. The treatment group receives 10 sessions of Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncture-care and self-care; the control group will engage in self-care only. A team of experienced Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncturists give acupuncture treatments. DISCUSSION: The study tests acupuncture as a complete treatment package including the therapeutic relationship and expectation. The intervention period lasts for 12 weeks, with follow up at 6 and 12 months. Primary endpoint is change in daily hot flush frequency in the two groups from baseline to 12 weeks; secondary endpoint is health related quality of life, assessed by the Women's Health Questionnaire. We also collect data on Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnoses, and we examine treatment experiences using a qualitative approach. Finally we measure biological variables, to examine potential mechanisms for the effect of acupuncture. The study is funded by The Research Council of Norway.

Indexed as

MenopauseQuality of LifeWomen's HealthAcupuncture TherapyCombined Modality TherapyFemaleHot FlashesHumansMiddle AgedNorwayPatient SatisfactionResearch DesignSelf CareSurveys and QuestionnairesTreatment Outcome

Identifiers

PMID17324253
PMCPMC1819392
OpenAlexW2169771376

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.