Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31145366›Full record

Trial reportMedicine2019

Therapeutic effects of acupuncture plus fire needle versus acupuncture alone in lateral epicondylitis: A randomized case-control pilot study.

Szu-Ying Wu, Cheng-Nan Lu, Chia-Jung Chung, Chun-En Kuo, Jer-Ming Sheen, Tun-Pin Hsueh, Ching-Chih Chen, Kuo-Wei Bi

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
2.0field-weighted citation impact, top 14% 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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
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

8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Szu-Ying WuDepartment of Chinese Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine.
Cheng-Nan LuDepartment of Chinese Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine.
Chia-Jung ChungDepartment of Chinese Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine.
Chun-En KuoDepartment of Chinese Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine.
Jer-Ming SheenDepartment of Chinese Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine.
Tun-Pin HsuehDepartment of Chinese Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine.
Ching-Chih ChenDepartment of Chinese Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine.
Kuo-Wei BiDepartment of Chinese Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine.
Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital · TWChang Gung University · TW

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe aim of this study was to compare the short-term and intermediate-term efficacy of acupuncture plus fire needle therapy with that of acupuncture alone in the treatment of lateral epicondylitis (LE).

methodsThirty-eight patients with LE who had persisted for at least 2 months were enrolled in this prospective, assessor-blinded, randomized controlled pilot trial. Twenty-one patients were randomized to the acupuncture plus fire needle group and 17 to the acupuncture-only group. The primary outcome was the visual analog scale pain score for the previous 24 hours and the secondary outcomes were the maximum grip strength, Patient-rated Forearm Evaluation Questionnaire score, and Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-form Health Survey score. The values at baseline (pretreatment), at the end of treatment, and at 3 months after treatment were used to assess the short-term and intermediate-term effects of treatment. The data were analyzed using the Chi-square test and t test.

resultsWithin-group analyses showed better results for acupuncture plus fire needle therapy in the short term and intermediate term. Differences in the severity of pain and secondary outcomes were significant in the intermediate term in the acupuncture group. At the end of treatment, none of the differences in outcome scores were significant, except for maximum grip strength in the affected hand in the acupuncture group. No significant between-group differences in short-term or intermediate-term outcomes were observed.

conclusionAcupuncture plus fire needle therapy was effective in the short term in patients seeking improvement of LE. Twelve treatments were effective for relieving pain and improving disability in the intermediate term in patients with chronic LE in both study groups. The findings of the pilot study confirm the feasibility of proceeding to a larger randomized controlled study of the longer-term effects of acupuncture plus fire needle therapy in patients with LE.

Indexed as

NeedlesAcupuncture TherapyAdultArthralgiaCase-Control StudiesDisability EvaluationElbow JointFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPain ManagementPain MeasurementPilot ProjectsProspective StudiesSingle-Blind Method

Identifiers

PMID31145366
PMCPMC6709153
OpenAlexW2947332984

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.