Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31348298›Full record

ArticleMedicine2019

Effect of auricular electroacupuncture combined with body acupuncture in improving the consciousness of patients after traumatic brain injury: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Tong Liu, Yanqing Lu, Jiani Yu, Weichuan Kuang, Xiaoyin Wang, Ye Jiang, Xiaojia Qiu, Xi Wen, Yao Zeng, Guitao Zhang and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial Protocol
In one paragraph

Article 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
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 38% 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, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  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

11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Tong LiuDepartment of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, GuangDong Second Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Yanqing LuDepartment of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine.
Jiani YuDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Weichuan KuangDepartment of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, GuangDong Second Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Xiaoyin WangDepartment of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, GuangDong Second Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Ye JiangDepartment of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, GuangDong Second Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Xiaojia QiuDepartment of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, GuangDong Second Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Xi WenDepartment of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, GuangDong Second Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Yao ZengDepartment of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, GuangDong Second Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Guitao ZhangDepartment of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, GuangDong Second Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Yue LiuDepartment of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, GuangDong Second Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine · CNGuangzhou University of Chinese Medicine · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTraumatic brain injury (TBI) has become a major cause of morbidity and mortality both in China and abroad. Disorders of consciousness following severe TBI is a common refractory complication, resulting in difficult rehabilitation and poor life quality. However, effective therapeutic approaches remain limited. Although acupuncture has been widely applied in the treatment of neurological disorders in China, its efficacy and safety for consciousness recovery remain to be elucidated.

methodsHere, we conduct a study design and protocol of a randomized, blinded, controlled study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of electroacupuncture at auricular acupoints "heart" and "brainstem" combined with body acupuncture in the consciousness recovery of patients with TBI. A total of 80 patients with initial Glasgow coma scale score between 3 and 8 points will be recruited in the trial and randomized into intervention (combined application of auricular electroacupuncture and body acupuncture) group or control (conventional treatment) group. Patients in the intervention group will receive electroacupuncture at bilateral auricular acupoints "heart" and "brainstem" (4 points in total) combined with body acupuncture in addition to conventional treatment while patients in the control group will receive conventional treatment alone for 8 weeks. The primary outcomes are changes of Glasgow coma scale score and mismatch negativity of event-related brain potentials at baseline after 4 weeks after the final treatment and 4 weeks after the final treatment. The secondary outcome measures will be changes of Barthel and FuglMeyer scores at baseline after 4 weeks after the final treatment and 4 weeks after the final treatment. The safety will also be assessed by monitoring the incidence of adverse events and changes in vital signs during the study. DISCUSSION: Results from this trial will significantly support the application of auricular acupuncture and body acupuncture in the consciousness recovery of patients with severe TBI. If found to be effective and safe, auricular acupuncture combined with body acupuncture will be a valuable complementary option for comatose patients with TBI.

trial registrationChinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR1800020245. Registered on 21 December 2018.

Indexed as

Acupuncture PointsAcupuncture TherapyAdolescentAdultAgedBrain Injuries, TraumaticConsciousness DisordersElectroacupunctureFemaleGlasgow Coma ScaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicSingle-Blind MethodYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID31348298
PMCPMC6709251
OpenAlexW2965231045

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.