Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26869339›Full record

Trial reportThe journal of spinal cord medicine2017

Auricular acupuncture for spinal cord injury related neuropathic pain: a pilot controlled clinical trial.

Irene Estores, Kevin Chen, Brian Jackson, Lixing Lao, Peter H Gorman

Abstract readControlled Clinical TrialRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in The journal of spinal cord medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
7.1field-weighted citation impact, top 5% 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

24 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 61 citations in OpenAlex.

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  9. Battlefield Acupuncture vs Ketorolac for Treating Pain in the Emergency Department.Federal practitioner : for the health care professionals of the VA, DoD, and PHS · 2023
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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

5 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Irene Estoresa University of Florida Health Integrative Medicine Program , Gaineseville , FL , USA.
Kevin Chenb Center for Integrative Medicine , University of Maryland School of Medicine , Baltimore , MD , USA.
Brian Jacksonb Center for Integrative Medicine , University of Maryland School of Medicine , Baltimore , MD , USA.
Lixing Laoc School of Chinese Medicine , The University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong , People's Republic of China.
Peter H Gormand University of Maryland Rehabilitation and Orthopaedic Institute , Baltimore , MD , USA.
University of Maryland, Baltimore · USChinese University of Hong Kong · CNUniversity of Florida Health · USUniversity of Maryland Rehabilitation & Orthopaedic Institute · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo obtain preliminary data on the effects of an auricular acupuncture protocol, Battlefield Acupuncture (BFA), on self-reported pain intensity in persons with chronic Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and neuropathic pain.

designPilot randomized delayed entry single center crossover clinical trial at an outpatient rehabilitation and integrative medicine hospital center.

methodsChronic (> one year post injury) ASIA impairment scale A through D individuals with SCI with injury level from C3 through T12 and below level neuropathic pain with at least five on the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) were recruited. Twenty-four subjects were randomized to either an eight-week once weekly ten-needle BFA protocol (n = 13) or to a waiting list followed by the BFA protocol (n = 11). OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome measure was change in the pain severity NRS. Secondary outcome was the Global Impression of Change.

resultsDemographically there were no significant differences between groups. Mean pain scores at baseline were higher in acupuncture than control subjects (7.75 ± 1.54 vs. 6.25 ± 1.04, P = 0.027). Although both groups reported significant reduction in pain during the trial period, the BFA group reported more pain reduction than the delayed entry group (average change in NRS at eight weeks -2.92 ± 2.11 vs. -1.13 ± 2.14, P = 0.065). There was a significant difference in groups when a group-by-time interaction in a mixed-effect repeated measures model (P = 0.014).

conclusionThis pilot study has provided proof of concept that BFA has clinically meaningful effect on the modulation of SCI neuropathic pain.

Indexed as

Acupuncture, EarFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeuralgiaPilot ProjectsSpinal Cord InjuriesAcupunctureAuricular acupunctureBattlefield acupunctureNeuropathic painRehabilitationSpinal cord injury

Identifiers

PMID26869339
PMCPMC5537960
OpenAlexW2263064879

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.