Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31083225›Full record

SynthesisMedicine2019

Compare the efficacy of acupuncture with drugs in the treatment of Bell's palsy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs.

Rongchao Zhang, Tao Wu, Ruihui Wang, Dong Wang, Qi Liu

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readComparative StudyMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04249921 (Evaluation of Acupuncture Effects for Complications After Surgery of Cerebellopontine Angle Tumor in Skull Base), which is not on this map. Cited by 25 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
25citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
8.3field-weighted citation impact, top 2% 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.

NCT04249921 unknown statusnot on this map

Evaluation of Acupuncture Effects for Complications After Surgery of Cerebellopontine Angle Tumor in Skull Base

TypeobservationalSponsorTaipei Veterans General Hospital, TaiwanRan2019 to 2020Enrolled32ConditionsAcupuncture, Tumor, Brain, Skull Base Tumor, Cerebellopontine Angle Tumor
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

25 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 76 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Rongchao ZhangAcupuncture and Tuina College, Chengdu University of Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan.
Tao WuShaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xi'an-Xianyang New Economic Zone, Shaanxi, China.
Ruihui WangShaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xi'an-Xianyang New Economic Zone, Shaanxi, China.
Dong WangShaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xi'an-Xianyang New Economic Zone, Shaanxi, China.
Qi LiuShaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xi'an-Xianyang New Economic Zone, Shaanxi, China.
Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBell's palsy or idiopathic facial paralysis is an acute facial paralysis caused by the inflammation of facial nerve. Several previous studies showed that acupuncture was beneficial in the treatment of facial paralysis. However, its effectiveness is still controversial compared with drug therapy. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to assess the efficacy of acupuncture for Bell's palsy.

methodsThis is a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical studies among patients with Bell's palsy. We did a systematic literature search in PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials to identify studies comparing the efficacy of acupuncture and drug treatment in treating facial paralysis. The search was last updated on July 2018.

resultsThe study included 11 randomized controlled trials with an overall sample of 1258 individuals. Acupuncture treatment was associated with an increased cure rate [relative risk (RR) = 1.77, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.41-2.21], with significant heterogeneity in the pooled results (I = 67%, P = .0008). There was a significant difference in total effective rate in acupuncture and drug treatment for Bell's palsy (RR = 1.18,95% CI: 1.07-1.31), with substantial heterogeneity (I = 90%, P < .00001).

conclusionAlthough there was not enough evidence to prove its safety, acupuncture seems to be an effective therapy for Bell's palsy. Results of the present meta-analysis showed that acupuncture was associated with increased cure rate and total effective rate of the treatment of Bell's palsy in comparison with drugs. However, the results should be interpreted cautiously, because of the poor quality and heterogeneity of the included studies. In the future, more and more high quality randomized controlled trials (RCT) are needed to prove the safety and effectiveness of acupuncture.

Indexed as

Acupuncture TherapyBell PalsyHumansNeuromuscular AgentsRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicNeuromuscular Agents

Identifiers

PMID31083225
PMCPMC6531040
OpenAlexW2945438190

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

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.