SynthesisJournal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.)2010
Auriculotherapy for pain management: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.), 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 4 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 60 papers, 3 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.
Efficacy of Auricular Neurostimulation for Adolescents With Pain-Associated Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders
Auricular Acupuncture for the Acute Management of Pain in the Emergency Department
The Effect of Auriculotherapy for Post-Operative Pain Management Following Rotator Cuff Surgery: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study
Auricular Point Acupressure to Manage Chemotherapy Induced Neuropathy
Who cites it
60 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Acupuncture Therapy as an Evidence-Based Nonpharmacologic Strategy for Comprehensive Acute Pain Care: The Academic Consortium Pain Task Force White Paper Update.Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) · 2022Pooled it
- Acupuncture for the Relief of Chronic Pain: A Synthesis of Systematic Reviews.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2019Pooled it
- Efficacy of auriculotherapy for constipation in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) · 2014Pooled it
- Auricular point acupressure for older adults with chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) · 2025Trial
- Efficacy of auriculotherapy in the control of pain, edema, and trismus following surgical extraction of the lower third molars: a split-mouth, randomized, placebo-controlled, and triple-blind study.Oral and maxillofacial surgery · 2024Trial
- Nurse initiated auricular acupressure for post-operative pain control in patients undergoing TKA or THA: A randomized controlled trial.International journal of orthopaedic and trauma nursing · 2024Trial
- Individual vs. Group Delivery of Acupuncture Therapy for Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain in Urban Primary Care-a Randomized Trial.Journal of general internal medicine · 2020Trial
- Trial
- A randomized controlled single-blind clinical trial on 84 outpatients with psoriasis vulgaris by auricular therapy combined with optimized Yinxieling Formula.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2012Trial
- Laser auriculotherapy for the treatment of pain: a scoping review.Lasers in medical science · 2026Article
- Potential of Auriculotherapy in Pain, Edema and Anxiety Management Following Orthognathic Surgery: A Multicenter, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled and Triple-Blind Study.Journal of maxillofacial and oral surgery · 2026Article
- Therapeutic mechanisms of acupuncture therapy for acute pain in the emergency department.Integrative medicine research · 2026Review
- Integration of Mindfulness and Acupuncture After Spine Surgery: Protocol for a Randomized Acceptability and Feasibility Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Auriculotherapy for Prolonged Postoperative Pain Management Following Rotator Cuff Surgery: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study.Medical acupuncture · 2025Article
- The Brazilian Auriculotherapy Practitioners' Training Profiles, Perceptions of Efficacy, and Technique-Related Side Effects: An Exploratory Study.Medical acupuncture · 2025Article
- Auricular Acupuncture for Perioperative Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of pain research · 2025Review
- Ipsilateral stimulation shows somatotopy of thumb and shoulder auricular points on the left primary somatosensory cortex using high-density fNIRS.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Transcutaneous Auricular Vagal Nerve Stimulation in Healthy Non-Sedated Horses: A Feasibility Study.Veterinary sciences · 2024Article
- Adapting and Evaluating a Theory-Driven, Non-Pharmacological Intervention to Self-Manage Pain.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The Effect of Cold Application to the Lateral Neck Area on Peripheral Vascular Access Pain: A Randomised Controlled Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesSide-effects of standard pain medications can limit their use. Therefore, nonpharmacologic pain relief techniques such as auriculotherapy may play an important role in pain management. Our aim was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies evaluating auriculotherapy for pain management.
designMEDLINE,(®) ISI Web of Science, CINAHL, AMED, and Cochrane Library were searched through December 2008. Randomized trials comparing auriculotherapy to sham, placebo, or standard-of-care control were included that measured outcomes of pain or medication use and were published in English. Two (2) reviewers independently assessed trial eligibility, quality, and abstracted data to a standardized form. Standardized mean differences (SMD) were calculated for studies using a pain score or analgesic requirement as a primary outcome.
resultsSeventeen (17) studies met inclusion criteria (8 perioperative, 4 acute, and 5 chronic pain). Auriculotherapy was superior to controls for studies evaluating pain intensity (SMD, 1.56 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.85, 2.26]; 8 studies). For perioperative pain, auriculotherapy reduced analgesic use (SMD, 0.54 [95% CI: 0.30, 0.77]; 5 studies). For acute pain and chronic pain, auriculotherapy reduced pain intensity (SMD for acute pain, 1.35 [95% CI: 0.08, 2.64], 2 studies; SMD for chronic pain, 1.84 [95% CI: 0.60, 3.07], 5 studies). Removal of poor quality studies did not alter the conclusions. Significant heterogeneity existed among studies of acute and chronic pain, but not perioperative pain.
conclusionsAuriculotherapy may be effective for the treatment of a variety of types of pain, especially postoperative pain. However, a more accurate estimate of the effect will require further large, well-designed trials.
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.