SynthesisChinese journal of integrative medicine2019
Effectiveness of Acupuncture on Pain, Physical Function and Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review of Quantitative Evidence.
Synthesis in Chinese journal of integrative medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 3 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
17 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- The 2026 British Society for Rheumatology guideline for pain management in people with inflammatory arthritis.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2026Guideline
- Comparison of Efficacy of Acupuncture-Related Therapy in the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Pooled it
- Acupuncture for the Relief of Chronic Pain: A Synthesis of Systematic Reviews.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2019Pooled it
- Association of Korean Medicine and polypharmacy with fall risk and mortality in older adults with stroke.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Effect of combined Zhuang medicine treatment on tricuspid annular displacement and heart rate variability in rheumatoid arthritis patients.American journal of translational research · 2024Article
- Electroacupuncture stimulating Zusanli (ST36), Sanyinjiao (SP6) in mice with collagen-induced arthritis leads to adenosine A2A receptor-mediated alteration of p38α mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling and inhibition of osteoclastogenesis.Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan · 2023Article
- Effects and mechanisms of acupuncture analgesia mediated by afferent nerves in acupoint microenvironments.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2023Review
- Electroacupuncture Alleviates Pain Responses and Inflammation in Collagen-Induced Arthritis Rats via Suppressing the TLR2/4-MyD88-NF-Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2023Article
- Efficacy of Moxa-burning heat stimulating Zusanli (ST36) and Shenshu (BL23) on expressions of macrophage migration inhibitory factor and macrophage apoptosis in rabbits with adjuvant-induced arthritis.Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan · 2022Article
- Nonpharmacological Interventions for Pain in Patients with Temporomandibular Joint Disorders: A Systematic Review.European journal of dentistry · 2022Article
- Prevalence and Factors Associated with Concomitant Chinese Medicine Use by Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients in A Multi-Ethnic Asian Population.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2022Article
- Clinical Efficacy of Acupuncture for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis: Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2022Article
- Inokosterone Is A Potential Drug Target of Estrogen Receptor 1 in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: Analysis from Active Ingredient of Cyathula Officinalis.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2021Article
- Evaluation of acupuncture for the treatment of pain associated with naturally-occurring osteoarthritis in dogs: a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, blinded clinical trial.BMC veterinary research · 2020Article
- Article
- Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture against Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2020Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo identify and synthesize the most recent available evidence of effectiveness of acupuncture on pain, physical function and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
methodsA comprehensive search of 12 Western and Chinese databases was undertaken from their inception up to end of 2016. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), concerning patients with RA treated with needle acupuncture, written in English, Portuguese, German or Chinese were included. Primary outcomes included pain, physical function and HRQoL. Secondary outcomes included morning stiffness, functional impairment, number of tender and swollen joints and serum concentrations of inflamatory markers. Methodological quality was assessed by three independent reviewers using the standardized critical appraisal instrument from the Joanna Briggs Institute Meta-Analysis of Statistics Assessment and Review Instrument.
resultsTwenty-two studies met the inclusion criteria. Of those, 9 studies were excluded after assessment of their methodological quality. The remaining 13 original RCTs included 974 patients. Ten of these studies published in China, showed favorable statistical significant effects of acupuncture in relieving symptoms of RA compared with controls.
conclusionsEvidence suggests that acupuncture interventions may have a positive effect in pain relief, physical function and HRQoL in RA patients. However, due to the heterogeneity and methodologic limitations of the studies included in this systematic review, evidence is not strong enough to produce a best practice guideline.
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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.