Trial reportPain medicine (Malden, Mass.)2019
A Randomized Clinical Trial of Group Acupuncture for Painful Diabetic Neuropathy Among Diverse Safety Net Patients.
Trial report in Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.), 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 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
21 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- Acupuncture for the Management of Chronic Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Current pain and headache reports · 2025Pooled it
- Research trends of acupuncture therapy for painful peripheral nervous system diseases from 2004 to 2023: a bibliometric and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of acupuncture for painful diabetic neuropathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Pooled it
- Effectiveness of oral clonidine and gabapentin on peripheral neuropathy in diabetic patients in southwestern Iran: a randomized clinical trial.BMC endocrine disorders · 2023Trial
- Improving Inclusion of Ethnically Diverse and Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Populations in Pain Research: A Comprehensive Review and Evidence-Based Recommendations.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Review
- Potential mechanisms of acupuncture in regulating neuroinflammation and central sensitization in chronic pain: a narrative review of preclinical, clinical, and translational evidence.American journal of translational research · 2026Review
- Feasibility of implementing acupuncture in medically underserved breast cancer survivors (FAB): A protocol.Contemporary clinical trials · 2024Article
- A Systematic Guideline by the ASPN Workgroup on the Evidence, Education, and Treatment Algorithm for Painful Diabetic Neuropathy: SWEET.Journal of pain research · 2024Review
- Effect of static magnetic field therapy on diabetic neuropathy and quality of life: a double-blind, randomized trial.Diabetology & metabolic syndrome · 2023Article
- Acupuncture in Patients with Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy-Related Complaints: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Effect of 10.6 μm laser moxibustion on inflammation in diabetic peripheral neuropathy rats.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023Article
- Recent updates in the treatment of diabetic polyneuropathy.Faculty reviews · 2022Review
- Acupuncture combine with Tuina for diabetic peripheral neuropathy: A protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.Medicine · 2021Article
- Effect of Acupuncture on Diabetic Neuropathy: A Narrative Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
- Review
- Integrative Medicine and Plastic Surgery: A Synergy-Not an Antonym.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2021Article
- Pain and Opioid Use: Evidence for Integrating Acupuncture Into Treatment Planning.Global advances in health and medicine · 2021Article
- Acupuncture for diabetic neuropathic pain: A protocol for systematic review and meta analysis.Medicine · 2020Article
- When ESKD complicates the management of pain.Seminars in dialysis · 2020Review
- "It Gave Me Hope" Experiences of Diverse Safety Net Patients in a Group Acupuncture Intervention for Painful Diabetic Neuropathy.Health equity · 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
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveExisting pharmacologic approaches for painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN) are limited in efficacy and have side effects. We examined the feasibility, acceptability, and effects of group acupuncture for PDN. DESIGN AND
settingWe randomized patients with PDN from a public safety net hospital to 1) usual care, 2) usual care plus 12 weeks of group acupuncture once weekly, or 3) usual care plus 12 weeks of group acupuncture twice weekly.
methodsThe primary outcome was change in weekly pain intensity (daily 0-10 numerical rating scale [NRS] averaged over seven days) from baseline to week 12. We also assessed health-related quality of life and related symptoms at baseline and weeks 6, 12, and 18.
resultsWe enrolled 40 patients with PDN (baseline pain = 5.3). Among participants randomized to acupuncture, 92% attended at least one treatment (mean treatments = 10.1). We observed no significant differences between once- vs twice-weekly acupuncture and combined those groups for the main analyses. Compared with usual care, participants randomized to acupuncture experienced greater decreases in pain during the 12-week intervention period (between-group differences from baseline = -2.06, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -3.01 to -1.10), but benefits were not maintained after acupuncture ended (baseline to week 18 = -0.61, 95% CI = -1.46 to 0.24). Quality of life improved for acupuncture participants (baseline to week 12 difference = 11.79, 95% CI = 1.92 to 21.66), but group differences were not significant compared with usual care (25.58, 95% CI = -3.90 to 55.06).
conclusionsGroup acupuncture is feasible and acceptable among linguistically and racially diverse safety net patients. Findings suggest clinically relevant reduction in pain from PDN and quality of life improvements associated with acupuncture, with no differences based on frequency.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.