ReviewEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2015
Acupuncture therapy is more effective than artificial tears for dry eye syndrome: evidence based on a meta-analysis.
Review in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04584216 (Evaluation of the Effects and Safety by the Steam Eye Mask With Acupoints Stimulation for VDT User), which is not on this map. Cited by 33 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.
Evaluation of the Effects and Safety by the Steam Eye Mask With Acupoints Stimulation for VDT User
Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 61 citations in OpenAlex.
- Research trends and hotspots of traditional Chinese medicine for asthenopia: a comprehensive visualization and bibliometric study as of 2024.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Autologous serum eye drops for patients with dry eye disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Optimizing acupuncture treatment for dry eye syndrome: a systematic review.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2018Pooled it
- Trial
- Trial
- Effect of laser acupuncture on dry eye: A study protocol for a 2-center randomized controlled trial.Medicine · 2018Trial
- 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
- Safety and efficacy of biodegradable microneedle acupuncture for dry eye: A multicenter, randomized, active-controlled pivotal trial.Integrative medicine research · 2026Article
- A Network Meta-Analysis Comparing the Efficacy Differences of Different Acupuncture and Sodium Hyaluronate Eye Drops in the Treatment of Dry Eye Disease.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
- 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
- Effect of Acupuncture on Tear Proteomics in Patients with Video Display Terminal-Related Dry Eye.Journal of proteome research · 2024Article
- Electroacupuncture for mild-to-moderate dry eye: study protocol for a multicentre, randomised, single-blind, sham-controlled trial.BMJ open · 2023Article
- Optimal acupuncture protocol improving symptoms of typical dry eye syndrome: meta-analysis and systematic review.Heliyon · 2023Article
- Post-LASIK dry eye disease: A comprehensive review of management and current treatment options.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Review
- Dry eye syndrome: comprehensive etiologies and recent clinical trials.International ophthalmology · 2022Review
- Acupuncture in the treatment of Dry Eye Syndrome with anxiety symptoms. A case report.European journal of translational myology · 2022Article
- Acupuncture for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with dry eye: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2022Article
- Acupuncture for dry eye syndrome after refractive surgery: A randomized controlled pilot trial.Integrative medicine research · 2021Article
- Electroacupuncture Alleviates Inflammation of Dry Eye Diseases by Regulating theOxidative medicine and cellular longevity · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background. The efficacy of acupuncture in dry eye syndrome patients remains controversial. Methods. Pubmed, Ovid, Cochrane libraries, CNKI, Wanfang, and CQVIP databases were electronically searched until October 1, 2014. Outcomes including tear break-up time (BUT), Schirmer I test (SIT), and cornea fluorescein staining (CFS) were analyzed. A meta-analysis was performed using both fixed- and random-effects models based on heterogeneity across studies. Results. Seven studies were included in this study; 198 and 185 patients were randomly treated with acupuncture and artificial tears, respectively. The overall BUT of patients in acupuncture group was significantly longer than that of the artificial tears group after treatment (P < 0.00001). The SIT was significantly higher in the acupuncture group than that in the artificial tears group after treatment (P = 0.001). The CFS of patients in acupuncture group was significantly improved compared to that in artificial group (P < 0.0001). Conclusions. Acupuncture therapy is effective for the dry eye patients, partly better than artificial tear treatment.
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.