Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27471137›Full record

SynthesisScientific reports2016

Acupuncture for musculoskeletal pain: A meta-analysis and meta-regression of sham-controlled randomized clinical trials.

Qi-Ling Yuan, Peng Wang, Liang Liu, Fu Sun, Yong-Song Cai, Wen-Tao Wu, Mao-Lin Ye, Jiang-Tao Ma, Bang-Bang Xu, Yin-Gang Zhang

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Scientific reports, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04464954 (Pilot Study), which is not on this map. Cited by 86 papers, 16 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
86citing papers in PubMed, 16 pooled it
17.4field-weighted citation impact, top 1% 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.

NCT04464954 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2020, after this paper: background citation

Pilot Study: Effect of Battlefield Acupuncture Needle Selection on Symptom Relief and Patient Tolerance in the Treatment of Pain

TypeinterventionalSponsorPaul CrawfordRan2020 to 2021Enrolled30ConditionsMusculoskeletal Pain, Acute PainArmsAuricular semi-permanent (ASP gold) needles, Intradermal (long) needles using J-type No. 2 (.18)x 15mm, Pyonex needles (Seirin Yellow 0.2 x 0.6mm)
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

86 citing papers in PubMed, 16 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 171 citations in OpenAlex.

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  14. Functional Somatic Symptoms.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2019
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26 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

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

10 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Qi-Ling YuanDepartment of Orthopaedics of the First Affiliated Hospital, Medical School, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, Shaanxi, China.
Peng WangXi'an 521 Hospital, Xi'an 710065, Shaanxi, China.
Liang LiuDepartment of Orthopaedics of the First Affiliated Hospital, Medical School, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, Shaanxi, China.
Fu SunDepartment of Orthopaedics of the First Affiliated Hospital, Medical School, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, Shaanxi, China.
Yong-Song CaiDepartment of Orthopaedics of the First Affiliated Hospital, Medical School, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, Shaanxi, China.
Wen-Tao WuDepartment of Orthopaedics of the First Affiliated Hospital, Medical School, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, Shaanxi, China.
Mao-Lin YeHenan Province Hospital of TCM, Henan University of TCM, Zhengzhou 450008, Henan, China.
Jiang-Tao MaHenan Province Hospital of TCM, Henan University of TCM, Zhengzhou 450008, Henan, China.
Bang-Bang XuHenan Province Hospital of TCM, Henan University of TCM, Zhengzhou 450008, Henan, China.
Yin-Gang ZhangDepartment of Orthopaedics of the First Affiliated Hospital, Medical School, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, Shaanxi, China.
First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University · CNFirst Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine · CNFirst Hospital of Xi'an · CNXi'an Medical University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The aims of this systematic review were to study the analgesic effect of real acupuncture and to explore whether sham acupuncture (SA) type is related to the estimated effect of real acupuncture for musculoskeletal pain. Five databases were searched. The outcome was pain or disability immediately (≤1 week) following an intervention. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Meta-regression was used to explore possible sources of heterogeneity. Sixty-three studies (6382 individuals) were included. Eight condition types were included. The pooled effect size was moderate for pain relief (59 trials, 4980 individuals, SMD -0.61, 95% CI -0.76 to -0.47; P < 0.001) and large for disability improvement (31 trials, 4876 individuals, -0.77, -1.05 to -0.49; P < 0.001). In a univariate meta-regression model, sham needle location and/or depth could explain most or all heterogeneities for some conditions (e.g., shoulder pain, low back pain, osteoarthritis, myofascial pain, and fibromyalgia); however, the interactions between subgroups via these covariates were not significant (P < 0.05). Our review provided low-quality evidence that real acupuncture has a moderate effect (approximate 12-point reduction on the 100-mm visual analogue scale) on musculoskeletal pain. SA type did not appear to be related to the estimated effect of real acupuncture.

Indexed as

Randomized Controlled Trials as TopicAcupunctureHumansMusculoskeletal PainTreatment Outcome

Identifiers

PMID27471137
PMCPMC4965798
OpenAlexW2492722291

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.