Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28651642›Full record

Trial reportBMC complementary and alternative medicine2017

A pilot randomized controlled trial of acupuncture at the Si Guan Xue for cancer pain.

To-Yi Lam, Li-Ming Lu, Wai-Man Ling, Li-Zhu Lin

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
3.5field-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

9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 48 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. [Efficacy of ropivacaine injection at acupoints for labor analgesia and its effect on cortisol level in parturients].Nan fang yi ke da xue xue bao = Journal of Southern Medical University · 2018
    Trial
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Effect of Acupuncture on Chronic Pain with Depression: A Systematic Review.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2020
    Review
  9. 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

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

To-Yi LamDepartment of Oncology, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405, China.
Li-Ming LuThe Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510120, China.
Wai-Man LingDepartment of Clinical Oncology, Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, 3 Lok Man Road, Chai Wan, Hong Kong.
Li-Zhu LinDepartment of Oncology, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405, China. lizhulin903@139.com.
Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine · CNPamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPain is a common symptom in cancer patients. Acupuncture is a suggested treatment for a wide range of clinical conditions, usually for its beneficial effects on pain control. Si guan xue (the four points) have been widely used in clinical practice, and has shown that it is highly effective, effective in obtaining qi, shows strong acupuncture stimulation, and is simple to manipulate and safe to use. Therefore, the aim of this study is to test the protocol and safety of acupuncture at the si guan xue in the management of cancer pain.

methodsThis is a single-blind, randomized controlled pilot trial. 42 patients with moderate to severe cancer pain were randomly assigned to three different arms with seven sessions of treatment; that is, treatment arm 1 (the si guan xue arm, n = 14), treatment arm 2 (the si guan xue plus commonly used acupoints arm, n = 14) and the control arm (the commonly used acupoints arm n = 14). Primary outcomes included acupuncture relieving cancer pain, and patients' subjective improvement as measured by the Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC). Secondary outcomes included the scores of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) and Karnofsky's Performance Status (KPS).

resultsThe analysis showed that the cancer pain reduction in treatment arm 2 was most prominent on day 5 when compared with the control arm (P<0.05). There was no difference in the scores of PGIC, EORTC QLQ-C30 or KPS among the three groups (P>0.05). Furthermore, no serious adverse events were observed.

conclusionsThese results indicate that acupuncture at the si guan xue plus commonly used acupoints tends to be effective in reducing cancer pain. However, the sample size was small, and a future multi-centre study with a larger sample size is warranted.

trial registrationChiCTR-IOR-15007471 (Retroactively registered on 28 NOV 2015).

Indexed as

Acupuncture AnalgesiaAcupuncture PointsAcupuncture TherapyAdultAgedAged, 80 and overCancer PainFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPilot ProjectsSingle-Blind MethodTreatment OutcomeAcupunctureCancer painRandomized controlled trialSi guan Xue

Identifiers

PMID28651642
PMCPMC5485510
OpenAlexW2634208248

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.