Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31348241›Full record

SynthesisMedicine2019

Effects of moxibustion on pain behaviors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A meta-analysis.

Biyu Shen, Qian Sun, Haoyang Chen, Yongchang Li, Xian Du, Huiling Li, Guang-Yin Xu

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-Analysis
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. Cited by 14 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
14citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
2.4field-weighted citation impact, top 11% 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

14 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Guideline
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Trial
  5. [Optimal Timing of Moxibustion Intervention for Anti-inflammatory and Analgesic Effects Based on a Chronic Inflammatory Pain Model].Sichuan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Sichuan University. Medical science edition · 2025
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Effect of moxibustion on autophagy and the inflammatory response of synovial cells in rheumatoid arthritis model rat.Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan · 2022
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Effect of Moxibustion onEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2021
    Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Review
  14. 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

7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Biyu ShenCenter for Translational Pain Medicine, Institute of Neuroscience, Soochow University.
Qian SunCenter for Translational Pain Medicine, Institute of Neuroscience, Soochow University.
Haoyang ChenNursing School of Nantong University, Nantong, China.
Yongchang LiCenter for Translational Pain Medicine, Institute of Neuroscience, Soochow University.
Xian DuNursing School of Nantong University, Nantong, China.
Huiling LiNursing School of Soochow University, Suzhou.
Guang-Yin XuCenter for Translational Pain Medicine, Institute of Neuroscience, Soochow University.
Soochow University · TWNantong University · CNSecond Affiliated Hospital of Nantong UniversitySoochow University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPain is the main symptom of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Reports of the effects of moxibustion on patients with rheumatoid arthritis have reached various conclusions. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the effect of moxibustion on pain in patients with RA.

methodsA systematic search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and the Chinese databases Wan Fang Med Database, CNKI, and VIP (until November, 2018) was used to identify studies reporting pain (on a visual analogue scale (VAS)), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) and rheumatoid factor (RF) levels, response rate, and the ACR50 rate in patients with RA. Results were expressed as mean difference (MD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

resultsSix studies involving 281 participants were included. Moxibustion had significant effects on pain (VAS: MD = -0.53, 95% CI [-0.94, -0.12], P =.01). Moreover, moxibustion had effects on CRP (MD = -2.84, 95% CI [-5.13, -0.55], P =.01), ESR (MD = -8.44, 95% CI ([-13.19, -3.68], P =.0005), and RF (MD = -6.39, 95% CI [-18.57, 5.79], P =.30). Additionally, it had effects on response rate (n = 249, RR = 1.26, 95% CI [1.11, 1.43], P =.0004) and ACR50 rate (n = 140, RR = 1.44, 95% CI [1.11, 1.88], P =.007).

conclusionWe found that moxibustion with Western medicine therapy is superior to Western medicine therapy alone for pain in patients with RA. Moxibustion had significant effects on pain in patients with RA, but the effects of moxibustion on inflammatory factors in RA were unclear.

Indexed as

Antirheumatic AgentsArthritis, RheumatoidBlood SedimentationCombined Modality TherapyC-Reactive ProteinHumansMoxibustionPain ManagementPain MeasurementRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicRheumatoid FactorAntirheumatic AgentsC-Reactive ProteinRheumatoid Factor

Identifiers

PMID31348241
PMCPMC6708866
OpenAlexW2964891406

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.