Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24086114›Full record

Trial reportPLoS medicine2013

Acupuncture and counselling for depression in primary care: a randomised controlled trial.

Hugh MacPherson, Stewart Richmond, Martin Bland, Stephen Brealey, Rhian Gabe, Ann Hopton, Ada Keding, Harriet Lansdown, Sara Perren, Mark Sculpher and 3 more

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in PLoS medicine, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02579343 (Adjunctive Treatment of Major Depression Utilizing Auricular Acupuncture), which is not on this map. Cited by 67 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
67citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
41.6field-weighted citation impact, top 1% 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.

NCT02579343 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2015, after this paper: background citation

Adjunctive Treatment of Major Depression Utilizing Auricular Acupuncture

TypeinterventionalSponsorFlorida Gulf Coast UniversityRan2015 to 2016Enrolled13ConditionsMajor Depressive DisorderArmsAuricular Acupuncture, Sham Auricular Acupuncture + Lexapro
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

67 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 140 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Acupuncture for depression.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Trial
  7. Acupuncture for irritable bowel syndrome: 2-year follow-up of a randomised controlled trial.Acupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society · 2017
    Trial
  8. Trial
  9. Trial
  10. Trial
  11. Trial
  12. Trial
  13. Trial
  14. Trial
  15. Trial
  16. Trial
  17. Trial
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

7 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Hugh MacPhersonDepartment of Health Sciences, University of York, York, United Kingdom.
Stewart Richmond
Martin Bland
Stephen Brealey
Rhian Gabe
Ann Hopton
Ada Keding
Harriet Lansdown
Sara Perren
Mark Sculpher
Eldon Spackman
David Torgerson
Ian Watt
University of York · GBHull York Medical School · GB

Funding

Department of Health RP-PG-0707-10186
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDepression is a significant cause of morbidity. Many patients have communicated an interest in non-pharmacological therapies to their general practitioners. Systematic reviews of acupuncture and counselling for depression in primary care have identified limited evidence. The aim of this study was to evaluate acupuncture versus usual care and counselling versus usual care for patients who continue to experience depression in primary care. METHODS AND

findingsIn a randomised controlled trial, 755 patients with depression (Beck Depression Inventory BDI-II score ≥ 20) were recruited from 27 primary care practices in the North of England. Patients were randomised to one of three arms using a ratio of 2.2.1 to acupuncture (302), counselling (302), and usual care alone (151). The primary outcome was the difference in mean Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) scores at 3 months with secondary analyses over 12 months follow-up. Analysis was by intention-to-treat. PHQ-9 data were available for 614 patients at 3 months and 572 patients at 12 months. Patients attended a mean of ten sessions for acupuncture and nine sessions for counselling. Compared to usual care, there was a statistically significant reduction in mean PHQ-9 depression scores at 3 months for acupuncture (-2.46, 95% CI -3.72 to -1.21) and counselling (-1.73, 95% CI -3.00 to -0.45), and over 12 months for acupuncture (-1.55, 95% CI -2.41 to -0.70) and counselling (-1.50, 95% CI -2.43 to -0.58). Differences between acupuncture and counselling were not significant. In terms of limitations, the trial was not designed to separate out specific from non-specific effects. No serious treatment-related adverse events were reported.

conclusionsIn this randomised controlled trial of acupuncture and counselling for patients presenting with depression, after having consulted their general practitioner in primary care, both interventions were associated with significantly reduced depression at 3 months when compared to usual care alone.

trial registrationControlled-Trials.com ISRCTN63787732 Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary.

Indexed as

Acupuncture TherapyCounselingPrimary Health CareAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAntidepressive AgentsDemographyDepressionDrug PrescriptionsFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedSurveys and QuestionnairesAntidepressive Agents

Identifiers

PMID24086114
PMCPMC3782410
OpenAlexW2134254973

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.