Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26161126›Full record

ReviewEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2015

Analysis and Thoughts about the Negative Results of International Clinical Trials on Acupuncture.

Wei-Hong Liu, Yang Hao, Yan-Jing Han, Xiao-Hong Wang, Chen Li, Wan-Ning Liu

Open access · hybridAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

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. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
3.6field-weighted citation impact, top 8% 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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Article
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

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Wei-Hong LiuInstitute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.
Yang HaoInstitute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.
Yan-Jing HanInstitute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.
Xiao-Hong WangInstitute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.
Chen LiInstitute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.
Wan-Ning LiuInstitute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

An increasing number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture have proved the clinical benefits of acupuncture; however, there are some results that have shown negative results or placebo effects. The paper carried out an in-depth analysis on 33 RCTs in the 2011 SCI database, the quality of the reports was judged according to Jadad scores, and the "Necessary Information Included in Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA 2010)" was taken as the standard to analyze the rationality of the therapeutic principle. The difference between the methodology (Jadad) scores of the two types of research reports did not constitute statistical significance (P > 0.05). The studies with negative results or placebo effects showed the following deficiencies with respect to intervention details: (1) incompletely rational acupoint selection; (2) inconsistent ability of acupuncturists; (3) negligible needling response to needling; (4) acupuncture treatment frequency too low in most studies; and (5) irrational setting of placebo control. Thus, the primary basis for the negative results or placebo effects of international clinical trials on acupuncture is not in the quality of the methodology, but in noncompliance with the essential requirements proposed by acupuncture theory in terms of clinical manipulation details.

Identifiers

PMID26161126
PMCPMC4487698
OpenAlexW1589264484

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.