Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25710206›Full record

ReviewJournal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.)2015

Manual and electrical needle stimulation in acupuncture research: pitfalls and challenges of heterogeneity.

Helene M Langevin, Rosa Schnyer, Hugh MacPherson, Robert Davis, Richard E Harris, Vitaly Napadow, Peter M Wayne, Ryan J Milley, Lixing Lao, Elisabet Stener-Victorin and 3 more

2 registry-linked trialsOpen access · greenAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.), 2015. 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 62 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
62citing papers in PubMed, 9 pooled it
21.4field-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.

NCT03802045 naunknown statusnot on this mapstarted 2019, after this paper: background citation

Electroacupuncture Frequency-related Effects on Chronic Low Back Pain in Older Adults: Triple-blind, 12-month Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of Sao Paulo General HospitalRan2019 to 2021Enrolled125ConditionsLow Back PainArmsElectroacupuncture, Needle, Adhesive Moxa
NCT05053373 nacompletednot on this map

Evaluation of Integrated Optimization Schemes for Female Stress Incontinence

TypeinterventionalSponsorShanghai Yueyang Integrated Medicine HospitalRan2014 to 2017Enrolled358ConditionsStress Urinary Incontinence in WomenArmsElectroacupuncture group, Sham electroacupuncture group, Pelvic floor muscle training
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

62 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 110 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Risk of Hepatitis C Virus Transmission through Acupuncture: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.The Korean journal of gastroenterology = Taehan Sohwagi Hakhoe chi · 2023
    Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Acupuncture for depression.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018
    Pooled it
  8. Pooled it
  9. Pooled it
  10. Trial
  11. Trial
  12. Trial
  13. Trial
  14. Trial
  15. Trial
  16. Trial
  17. Trial
  18. Trial
  19. Electroacupuncture and splinting versus splinting alone to treat carpal tunnel syndrome: a randomized controlled trial.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2016
    Trial
  20. Article

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

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 10 institutions in 4 countries.

Helene M Langevin1 Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Harvard Medical School , Boston, MA.
Rosa Schnyer
Hugh MacPherson
Robert Davis
Richard E Harris
Vitaly Napadow
Peter M Wayne
Ryan J Milley
Lixing Lao
Elisabet Stener-Victorin
Jiang-Ti Kong
Richard Hammerschlag
Executive Board of the Society for Acupuncture Research
Center for Orthopaedics · USOregon College of Oriental Medicine · USHarvard University · USKarolinska Institutet · SEStanford Medicine · USStromatec (United States) · USThe University of Texas at Austin · USUniversity of Hong Kong · HKUniversity of Michigan–Ann Arbor · USUniversity of York · GB

Funding

Interdisciplinary Research Training in Pain and Substance Use DisordersT32DA035165 · NIDA · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI SEAN C MACKEY · 2013 to 2026
$7.2M
NIDA NIH HHS T32 DA035165
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In the field of acupuncture research there is an implicit yet unexplored assumption that the evidence on manual and electrical stimulation techniques, derived from basic science studies, clinical trials, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses, is generally interchangeable. Such interchangeability would justify a bidirectional approach to acupuncture research, where basic science studies and clinical trials each inform the other. This article examines the validity of this fundamental assumption by critically reviewing the literature and comparing manual to electrical acupuncture in basic science studies, clinical trials, and meta-analyses. The evidence from this study does not support the assumption that these techniques are interchangeable. This article also identifies endemic methodologic limitations that have impaired progress in the field. For example, basic science studies have not matched the frequency and duration of manual needle stimulation to the frequency and duration of electrical stimulation. Further, most clinical trials purporting to compare the two types of stimulation have instead tested electroacupuncture as an adjunct to manual acupuncture. The current findings reveal fundamental gaps in the understanding of the mechanisms and relative effectiveness of manual versus electrical acupuncture. Finally, future research directions are suggested to better differentiate electrical from manual simulation, and implications for clinical practice are discussed.

Indexed as

Acupuncture TherapyElectroacupunctureFemaleHumansMale

Identifiers

PMID25710206
PMCPMC4855731
OpenAlexW2325109532

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.