Trial reportMedicine2018
Efficacy of electroacupuncture compared with transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation for functional constipation: Study protocol for a randomized, controlled trial.
Trial report in Medicine, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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
6 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparisons between Manual Lymph Drainage, Abdominal Massage, and Electrical Stimulation on Functional Constipation Outcomes: A Randomized, Controlled Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Trial
- Mechanism of Functional Compound Fruit Drinks in Regulating Serum Metabolism in Constipated Mice.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Effects of Functional Red Pine Seed Direct-Drinking Oil on Constipation and Intestinal Barrier Function in Mice.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Transdermal Administration of Volatile Oil fromOxidative medicine and cellular longevity · 2022Article
- Acupoint catgut embedding therapy for functional constipation: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.Medicine · 2021Article
- Pain Relief during Oocyte Retrieval by Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation: A Single-Blinded, Randomized, Controlled Multicenter Trial.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTo treat functional constipation, both electroacupuncture (EA) therapy and transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) are safe and effective. However, no head-to-head comparison trial has been conducted. This trial compares the efficacy of electroacupuncture relative to transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation for functional constipation.
methodsIndividuals with functional constipation will be randomly allocated to receive either EA or TENS (n = 51, each), 3 times per week for 8 weeks. The primary outcome is the percentage of participants with an average increase from baseline of 1 or more complete spontaneous bowel movements at week 8. The secondary outcome measures are the following: at the time of visits, changes in the number of complete spontaneous bowel movements, number of spontaneous bowel movements, stool character, difficulty in defecation, patients' assessment of quality of life regarding constipation (self-report questionnaire), and use of auxiliary defecation methods. DISCUSSION: The results of this trial should verify whether EA is more efficacious than TENS for relieving symptoms of functional constipation. The major limitation of the study is the lack of blinding of the participants and acupuncturist.
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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.