Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29552076›Full record

ReviewEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2018

Analysis of the Registration Information on Interventions of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Trials in the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform.

Yali Liu, Wenjie Chen, Yingxin Tan, Xingyue Yang, Jia Liu, Tingting Lu, Shiyan Yan, Liyun He, Baoyan Liu

Open access · hybridAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
5.7field-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

11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Non-Invasive Auricular Acupoint Stimulation Improves Slow-Transit Constipation: Evidence From a Randomized Controlled Trial.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2025
    Trial
  3. Trial
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. 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

9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Yali LiuInstitute of Basic Research in Clinical Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.ORCID 0000-0003-0037-6326
Wenjie ChenThe First Clinical Medical College of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China.
Yingxin TanThe First Clinical Medical College of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China.
Xingyue YangBeijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100700, China.ORCID 0000-0003-3564-7472
Jia LiuInstitute of Basic Research in Clinical Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.ORCID 0000-0003-4096-8334
Tingting LuEvidence Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China.
Shiyan YanInstitute of Basic Research in Clinical Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.
Liyun HeInstitute of Basic Research in Clinical Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.
Baoyan LiuChina Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.ORCID 0000-0002-3281-3669
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College · CNLanzhou University · CNBeijing University of Chinese Medicine · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo analyze and compare the clinical registration information about acupuncture and moxibustion for intervention characteristics.

methodsClinical trials from the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform of the World Health Organization in acupuncture and moxibustion were comprehensively collected from 2013 to 2015; data were independently screened and extracted by two retrievers, and relevant data involving either basic descriptions or intervention characteristics were analyzed.

results425 acupuncture and moxibustion registered clinical trials were included; 88.00% (374/425) were designed as controlled studies, among which 38.59% (164/425) had sham acupuncture as the control group. The most common diseases were pain-related at approximately 19.29% (82/425) of trials. Reports on the intervention information in these acupuncture and moxibustion clinical studies were not sufficiently presented; these reports included the reporting of names of points (39.8%), the method of needle stimulation (32.5%), needle type (29.6%), needle retention time (34.1%), the number of treatment sessions (22.4%), and the frequency and duration of treatment sessions (38.1%).

conclusionThe registration information for the clinical trials of acupuncture and moxibustion was quite low according to this investigational study. Steps should be taken to improve the quality of acupuncture and moxibustion registration information.

Identifiers

PMID29552076
PMCPMC5820559
OpenAlexW2784032690

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.