Trial reportAllergy2012
Acupuncture compared with oral antihistamine for type I hypersensitivity itch and skin response in adults with atopic dermatitis: a patient- and examiner-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial.
Trial report in Allergy, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 2 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
34 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 92 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Oral H1 antihistamines as 'add-on' therapy to topical treatment for eczema.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- The brain circuitry mediating antipruritic effects of acupuncture.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2014Trial
- Effects and safety of acupuncture versus non-penetrating sham acupuncture for senile pruritus: Rationale and design for a randomized controlled trial.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2025Article
- Effect of Biodegradable Microneedle Acupuncture in Mild to Moderate Atopic Dermatitis: a single-blinded randomized controlled pilot trial.Journal of pharmacopuncture · 2025Article
- The Effect of Acupuncture along with Conventional Therapies on the Treatment of Allergic Rhinitis: A Clinical Trial.Advanced biomedical research · 2025Article
- A review of the efficacy of complementary and alternative Medicines in managing Pruritus.Archives of dermatological research · 2024Review
- [Neuropathic pruritus-Evidence-based treatment recommendations].Der Nervenarzt · 2023Review
- Role of GRPR in Acupuncture Intervention in the "Itch-scratch Vicious Cycle" Spinal Circuit of Chronic Pruritus.Chinese medicine · 2023Review
- Observational
- Treatment Options for Troublesome Itch.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Turkish Guideline for Diagnosis and Treatment of Allergic Rhinitis (ART).Turkish archives of otorhinolaryngology · 2021Article
- Acupuncture for the Treatment of Itch: Peripheral and Central Mechanisms.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2021Review
- Effect of Acupuncture on Gut-Brain Axis Parameters in Patients with Atopic Dermatitis: A Study Protocol for a Randomized, Participant- and Assessor-Blind, Sham-Controlled Trial.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2021Article
- Electroacupuncture alleviates Parkinson disease and regulates the expression of brain-gut peptides.Experimental animals · 2020Article
- Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Allergic Diseases.Current allergy and asthma reports · 2020Review
- Article
- Antipruritic effects of electroacupuncture on morphine-induced pruritus model mice through the TLR2/4-MyD88-NF-κB pathway.Neuroreport · 2019Article
- Acupuncture for Histamine-Induced Itch: Association With Increased Parasympathetic Tone and Connectivity of Putamen-Midcingulate Cortex.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2019Article
- Preliminary Comparison of the Efficacy and Safety of Needle-Embedding Therapy with Acupuncture for Atopic Dermatitis Patients.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundItch is the major symptom of atopic dermatitis (AD). Acupuncture has been shown to exhibit a significant effect on experimental itch in AD. Our study evaluated acupuncture and antihistamine itch therapy (cetirizine) on type I hypersensitivity itch and skin reaction in AD using a patient and examiner-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial.
methodsAllergen-induced itch was evaluated in 20 patients with AD after several interventions in separate sessions: preventive (preceding) and abortive (concurrent) verum acupuncture (VAp and VAa), cetirizine (10 mg, VC), corresponding placebo interventions (preventive, PAp, and abortive, PAa, placebo acupuncture; placebo cetirizine pill, PC) and a no-intervention control (NI). Itch was induced on the forearm and temperature modulated over 20 min, using our validated model. Outcome parameters included itch intensity, wheal and flare size and the D2 attention test.
resultsMean itch intensity (SE: 0.31 each) was significantly lower following VAa (31.9) compared with all other groups (PAa: 36.5; VC: 36.8; VAp: 37.6; PC: 39.8; PAp: 39.9; NI: 45.7; P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between VAp and VC (P > 0.1), although both therapies were significantly superior to their respective placebo interventions (P < 0.05). Flare size following VAp was significantly smaller (P = 0.034) than that following PAp. D2 attention test score was significantly lower following VC compared with all other groups (P < 0.001).
conclusionsBoth VA and cetirizine significantly reduced type I hypersensitivity itch in patients with AD, compared with both placebo and NI. Timing of acupuncture application was important, as VAa had the most significant effect on itch, potentially because of counter-irritation and/or distraction. Itch reduction following cetirizine coincided with reduced attention.
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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.