ReviewISRN Pain2013
Time Course of Placebo Effect of Acupuncture on Pain: A Systematic Review.
Review in ISRN Pain, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Use of Placebo and Nonoperative Control Groups in Surgical Trials: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA network open · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Nonspecific adverse events in knee osteoarthritis clinical trials: a systematic review.PloS one · 2014Pooled it
- Long-lasting effect of penetrating acupuncture among responders: Double-blind RCT of acupuncture for vulvodynia.The journal of pain · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Acupoints Stimulation for Anxiety and Depression in Cancer Patients: A Quantitative Synthesis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objectives. Our objective was to investigate the time course of the placebo effect of acupuncture on pain and the factors affecting the placebo effect. Methods. Previously we retrieved three-armed randomized acupuncture trials including sham and no-treatment groups which were published until October 2009. We searched electronic databases again to identify additional trials from October 2009 to December 2011. After a screening of trials, fifteen three-armed acupuncture trials for pain were included in the analysis. Standardized mean differences between the sham and no-treatment groups were calculated for placebo effect. We then plotted the magnitude of the placebo effect over time. Results. The placebo effect gradually has increased for 12 weeks with a standardized mean difference of 0.74 (95% CI: 0.54 to 0.94). Then it decreased after 12 weeks as time passed. When the placebo effects were compared for factors including methodological qualities, they were not affected by all factors, except patient blinding. Trials with sufficient patient blinding showed a larger placebo effect at 8 weeks than those with insufficient patient blinding (P = 0.0009). Conclusion. The placebo effect of acupuncture showed a unique pattern, which was affected by insufficient patient blinding.
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.