SynthesisChinese journal of integrative medicine2012
Acupuncture for Bell's palsy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Chinese journal of integrative medicine, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 5 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparison of acupuncture intervention from the acute phase or the non-acute phase in patients with peripheral facial paralysis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- The efficacy and safety of acupuncture treatment for peripheral facial paralysis: an overview of systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Compare the efficacy of acupuncture with drugs in the treatment of Bell's palsy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs.Medicine · 2019Pooled it
- Acupuncture for the Treatment of Peripheral Neuropathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) · 2017Pooled it
- Efficacy of Acupuncture for Bell's Palsy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.PloS one · 2015Pooled it
- Trial
- Trial
- Time to Complete Clinical Recovery and Its Predictors in Bell's Palsy Patients Receiving Acupuncture: A Prospective Cohort Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Observational
- Effects of Laser Acupuncture Therapy for Patients With Inadequate Recovery From Bell's Palsy: Preliminary Results From Randomized, Double-Blind, Sham-Controlled Study.Journal of lasers in medical sciences · 2021Article
- Article
- Cortical Reorganization in Patients Recovered from Bell's Palsy: An Orofacial and Finger Movements Task-State fMRI Study.Neural plasticity · 2016Article
- Specific Correlation between the Hegu Point (LI4) and the Orofacial Part: Evidence from an fMRI Study.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2015Article
- Brain responses to acupuncture are probably dependent on the brain functional status.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2013Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo assess the clinical evidence for and against acupuncture as a treatment for Bell's palsy.
methodsWe conducted a literature search of 15 databases from their inception to December 2010 without language restrictions. We included all randomized clinical trials (RCTs) regardless of their controls. Methodological quality was evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool.
resultsOf the 3 474 articles, only eight RCTs met our inclusion criteria. Four RCTs tested the effects of acupuncture against drug therapy on disease response rate. The meta-analysis of these data showed significant improvements in the acupuncture group [n=463, risk ratio (RR)=1.07, 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.13; P=0.006, I(2)=0%]. Six RCTs tested the effects of acupuncture plus drug therapy versus drug therapy alone. The meta-analysis of this set of RCTs also showed the favorable effects of acupuncture on disease response rate (n=512, RR=1.11, 95% CI: 1.05 to 1.17; P=0.001, I(2)=13%).
conclusionsThe evidence supporting the effectiveness of acupuncture for treating Bell's palsy is limited. The number and quality of trials are too low to form firm conclusions. Further rigorous RCTs are warranted but need to overcome the many limitations of the current evidence.
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.