ReviewEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2016
Changes of Local Blood Flow in Response to Acupuncture Stimulation: A Systematic Review.
Review in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 4 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
30 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 43 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of acupuncture in managing radiotherapy/chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in breast cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Systematic Review to Inform a World Health Organization (WHO) Clinical Practice Guideline: Benefits and Harms of Needling Therapies for Chronic Primary Low Back Pain in Adults.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2023Pooled it
- Acupuncture for chronic nonspecific low back pain.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Effect of neurogenic acupoint cupping on high sensitive C-reactive protein and pain perception in female chronic pelvic pain: A randomized controlled trial.Journal of musculoskeletal & neuronal interactions · 2021Trial
- Effectiveness of Acupuncture Treatment on Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: A Pilot, Randomized, Assessor-Blinded, Controlled Trial.Pain research & management · 2020Trial
- Physiological impact of nanoporous acupuncture needles: Laser Doppler perfusion imaging in healthy volunteers.PloS one · 2019Trial
- Hemodynamic Changes Following Acupuncture and Moxibustion in Patients with Subjective Tinnitus: An Acceleration Photoplethysmography and Pulsed-Wave Doppler Ultrasound Study.Audiology research · 2026Article
- The Efficacy of Acupuncture and Bee Venom Injections in Improving Hearing in a Patient with Idiopathic Conductive Hearing Loss: a case report.Journal of pharmacopuncture · 2026Article
- Research Progress on the Prevention and Treatment of Exercise-Induced Fatigue by Acupuncture.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Therapeutic mechanisms of acupuncture therapy for acute pain in the emergency department.Integrative medicine research · 2026Review
- Acupuncture Therapy in Tinnitus Using Single Needle Through Multiple Points Technique TE21-SI19-GB2 and GB3-SI19: A Case Report.Medical acupuncture · 2026Article
- Article
- Electroacupuncture-augmented breaststroke vs. breaststroke alone for mild AIS: superior correction in a retrospective cohort.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Article
- Acupuncture in Dentistry: A Comprehensive Review of Its Applications, Mechanisms, and Clinical Efficacy.Cureus · 2025Review
- The potential of systemic immune-inflammation index in predicting outcomes of facial palsy in patients with Ramsay Hunt syndrome treated by acupuncture.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Article
- The vasodilatory effect of acupuncture and medicine-cake-separated moxibustion on a 28-year course of Takayasu arteritis: a case report.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Article
- Biological effect of acupuncture on peripheral facial paralysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Review
- Treating Erythromelalgia with Interosseous Membrane Stimulation: An Autonomic Basis for the Condition and Its Treatment.Medical acupuncture · 2024Article
- Acupoint transplantation versus non-acupoint transplantation using autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells in treating peripheral arterial disease.Blood science (Baltimore, Md.) · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objectives. This systematic review aimed to summarize and evaluate the findings of studies investigating the local microcirculatory effects following acupuncture stimulation. Methods. MEDLINE, EMBASE, OASIS, and Cochrane library were searched to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published before January 30, 2015. Studies demonstrating any type of microcirculation response to manual acupuncture in healthy subjects and patients were included. The risk of bias and the reliability of the experimental conditions were evaluated to determine quality assessment. Results. Eight RCTs met the inclusion criteria; there was at least one acupuncture-induced change in a microcirculatory parameter. Of the seven studies in healthy subjects, four reported significant increases in blood flow following acupuncture compared with control, whereas one other study observed reductions in microcirculation immediately after acupuncture needling. The studies that assessed patients with either fibromyalgia or trapezius myalgia found significant increases in blood flow in the skin and muscle. Additionally, the degree and duration of increases in microcirculation varied depending on the condition of the subjects and the manipulation technique. Conclusions. The current evidence regarding the local effects of acupuncture in terms of blood flow remains insufficient for reliable conclusions due to few well-designed studies. Additional well-designed studies are needed to clarify these issues.
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.