Trial reportPloS one2012
Acupuncture for the treatment of dry eye: a multicenter randomised controlled trial with active comparison intervention (artificial teardrops).
Trial report in PloS one, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 38 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.
Acupuncture for Dry Eye: a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial With Active Comparison Intervention (Artificial Tear Drop) Using a Mixed Method Approach
Evaluation of the Effects and Safety by the Steam Eye Mask With Acupoints Stimulation for VDT User
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 82 citations in OpenAlex.
- Acupuncture in the treatment of inflammation-related ocular degenerations: a systematic review.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Auricular Acupressure for Dry Eye Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Pooled it
- Optimizing acupuncture treatment for dry eye syndrome: a systematic review.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2018Pooled it
- Prospective Sham-Controlled trial: acupuncture for symptom-relieving in patients with Sjögren's disease.Clinical rheumatology · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Laser Acupuncture Improves Tear Film Stability in Patients with Dry Eye Disease: A Two-Center Randomized-Controlled Trial.Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Effect of laser acupuncture on dry eye: A study protocol for a 2-center randomized controlled trial.Medicine · 2018Trial
- Electrical stimulation of auricular acupressure for dry eye: A randomized controlled-clinical trial.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2017Trial
- Proteomic analysis of tears following acupuncture treatment for menopausal dry eye disease by two-dimensional nano-liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry.International journal of nanomedicine · 2017Trial
- Efficacy of Chinese eye exercises on reducing accommodative lag in school-aged children: a randomized controlled trial.PloS one · 2015Trial
- Acupuncture for dry eye syndrome after refractive surgery: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.Trials · 2013Trial
- Comparison of the Safety and Efficacy of Biodegradable Microneedle Acupuncture and Sterile Acupuncture: study protocol for a prospective, confirmatory, superiority, multicenter, parallel, single-blinded randomized controlled trial.Journal of pharmacopuncture · 2025Article
- Intradermal Acupuncture for Moderate to Severe Dry Eye Disease: a pilot randomized controlled trial.Journal of pharmacopuncture · 2025Article
- Periocular Acupuncture Safety: Concerns Centered on Proper Practice, Not Inherent Acupuncture Risks.Korean journal of ophthalmology : KJO · 2025Article
- Effectiveness of an Acupuncture Steam-Warming Eye Mask on Dry Eye Disease in Visual Display Terminal Users: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Effect of Acupuncture on Tear Proteomics in Patients with Video Display Terminal-Related Dry Eye.Journal of proteome research · 2024Article
- Article
- Ocular Surface Disease Index questionnaire in different languages.Medical hypothesis, discovery & innovation ophthalmology journal · 2024Review
- Tolerability of Current Treatments for Dry Eye Disease: A Review of Approved and Investigational Therapies.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo evaluate the effects of acupuncture compared to a control group using artificial tears.
methodsSETTING &
designmulticenter randomised controlled trial (three local research hospitals of South Korea). STUDY POPULATION: 150 patients with moderate to severe dry eye.
interventionParticipants were randomly allocated into four weeks of acupuncture treatment (bilateral BL2, GB14, TE 23, Ex1, ST1, GB20, LI4, LI11 and single GV23) or to the artificial tears group (sodium carboxymethylcellulose). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The ocular surface disease index (OSDI), tear film break-up time (TFBUT), Schirmer Ι test, visual analogue scale (VAS) for self-assessment of ocular discomfort, general assessment (by both acupuncture practitioners and participants) and quality of life (QOL) through the Measure Yourself Medical Outcome Profile-2 (MYMOP-2).
resultsThere was no statistically significant difference between two groups for the improvement of dry eye symptoms as measured by OSDI (MD -16.11, 95% CI [-20.91, -11.32] with acupuncture and -15.37, 95% CI [-19.57, -11.16] with artificial tears; P = 0.419), VAS (acupuncture: -23.84 [-29.59, -18.09]; artificial tears: -22.2 [-27.24, -17.16], P = 0.530) or quality of life (acupuncture: -1.32 [-1.65, -0.99]; artificial tears: -0.96 [-1.32, -0.6], P = 0.42) immediately after treatment. However, compared with artificial tears group, the OSDI (acupuncture: -16.15 [-21.38, -10.92]; artificial tears: -10.76 [-15.25, -6.27], P = 0.030) and VAS (acupuncture: -23.88 [-30.9, -16.86]; artificial tears: -14.71 [-20.86, -8.55], P = 0.018) were significantly improved in the acupuncture group at 8 weeks after the end of acupuncture treatment. TFBUT measurements increased significantly in the acupuncture group after treatment.
conclusionsAcupuncture may have benefits on the mid-term outcomes related to dry eye syndrome compared with artificial tears.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01105221.
Indexed as
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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.