SynthesisMedicine2019
Scalp acupuncture treatment for children's autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 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
13 citing papers in PubMed, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of acupuncture on rehabilitation treatment of children with different degrees of autism spectrum disorder: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Trial
- Acupuncture in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Narrative Review of Neurotransmitter Regulation and Neuroplasticity.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Research status and prospects of acupuncture for autism spectrum disorders.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Review
- Effects of Acupuncture-Related Therapies in the Rehabilitation of Patients with Post-Stroke Aphasia-A Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Brain sciences · 2022Review
- Ashi Scalp Acupuncture in the Treatment of Secondary Trigeminal Neuralgia Induced by Multiple Sclerosis: A Case Report.Medicines (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Signalling pathways in autism spectrum disorder: mechanisms and therapeutic implications.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2022Review
- Effect of the Early Start Denver Model on Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Syndrome of Different Traditional Chinese Medicine Types in Northeast China.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2022Article
- Clinical Randomized Controlled Study of Acupuncture Treatment on Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2021Review
- Acupuncture and oxytocinergic system: The promising treatment for autism.Translational neuroscience · 2021Review
- Article
- Article
- Efficacy and Safety of Laser Acupuncture in the Treatment of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review.Global advances in integrative medicine and healthReview
- "The Evidence I Need Is Change in a Child" Healthcare Provider Perspectives on Acupuncture Therapy for Children Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): An Interpretive Description.Global advances in integrative medicine and healthArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopment disorder without definitive cure. Previous studies have provided evidences for efficacy and safety of scalp acupuncture in children with ASD. However, the efficacy of scalp acupuncture treatment (SAT) in children with ASD has not been evaluated systematically. The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of SAT in children with ASD.
methodsInformation from 6 databases, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane database, AMED, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang Data, were retrieved from the inception of each database from 1980 through September 2018. Randomized controlled trials evaluating the efficacy of SAT for patients with ASD were included. The primary outcome measures were the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC). The secondary outcome measures were Psychoeducational Profile (Third Edition) (PEP-3) scores. Risk of bias assessment and data synthesis were conducted with Review Manager 5.3 software. Methodological quality was assessed with the Cochrane risk of bias tool.
resultsFourteen trials with 968 participants were conducted and 11 of the trials were suitable for meta-analysis. Compared with behavioral and educational interventions, SAT significantly decreased the overall CARS scores for children under 3 years old (mean difference (MD) = 3.08, 95% confidence interval (CI) [-3.96, -2.19], P < .001) and above 3 years old (MD = 5.29, 95% CI [-8.53, -2.06], P < .001), ABC scores (MD = 4.70, 95% CI [-6.94, -2.79], P < .001). Furthermore, SAT significantly improved PEP-3 scores in communication (MD = 3.61, 95% CI [2.85, 4.37], P < .001), physical ability (MD = 2.00, 95% CI [1.16, 2.84], P < .001), and behavior (MD = 2.76, 95% CI [1.80, 2.71], P < .001).
conclusionSAT may be an effective treatment for children with ASD. Given the heterogeneity and number of participants, randomized controlled trials of high quality and design are required before widespread application of this therapy.
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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.