ArticleJournal of pain research2019
Assessing the reporting quality in randomized controlled trials of acupuncture for postherpetic neuralgia using the CONSORT statement and STRICTA guidelines.
Article in Journal of pain research, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04594226 (Efficacy of Electroacupuncture Therapy in Patients With Postherpetic Neuralgia), which is not on this map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 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.
Efficacy of Electroacupuncture Therapy in Patients With Postherpetic Neuralgia: a Multicentre Randomised Controlled Trial
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Overall reporting quality of randomised controlled trials of acupuncture for low back pain reported after 2020: a systematic review.BMJ open · 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
- Acupuncture for Postherpetic Neuralgia: An Evidence Mapping.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
- Overall Reporting Quality of Randomized Controlled Trials of Acupuncture for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review.Journal of pain research · 2024Article
- Article
- Assessment of Completeness of Reporting in Randomized Controlled Trials of Acupuncture Therapy for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.International journal of general medicine · 2022Review
- Efficacy of Electroacupuncture for the Treatment of Postherpetic Neuralgia: Study Protocol for a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of pain research · 2022Article
- Abstracts for reports of randomised trials of COVID-19 interventions had low quality and high spin.Journal of clinical epidemiology · 2021Article
- Assessment of the reporting quality of randomised controlled trials of massage.Chinese medicine · 2021Article
- Efficacy of Electroacupuncture Therapy in Patients With Postherpetic Neuralgia: Study Protocol for a Multicentre, Randomized, Controlled, Assessor-Blinded Trial.Frontiers in medicine · 2021Article
- Do acupuncture trials have lower risk of bias over the last five decades? A methodological study of 4 715 randomized controlled trials.PloS one · 2020Article
- Reporting Quality of Randomized Controlled Trials for the Treatment of Eczema with Chinese Patent Medicine Based on the CONSORT-CHM Formulas 2017.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 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
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThis study evaluates the reporting quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on acupuncture use for the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia and explores related factors.
methodsThe following six databases PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, VIP, CNKI, and SinoMed, were systematically searched from their inception to December 2018. RCTs using acupuncture as an intervention for postherpetic neuralgia were selected and incorporated in this study. The reporting quality was assessed based on the CONSORT statement and the STRICTA guidelines. Regression analyses were also conducted on pre-specified study characteristics searching for factors associated with reporting quality.
resultsA total of 137 RCTs were included in this study. The CONSORT based median OQS was 12 (minimum 3, maximum 29). Of the items comprised in the statement, ten were sufficiently reported (reported in over 70% of trials). The remaining fifty-five items were poorly reported (reported by fewer than 5% of trials). The STRICTA based median OQS was 9 (minimum 2, maximum 15). The results showed that eight of the comprised items were well reported (reported in over 70% of trials), and only three were incompletely reported (reported in fewer than 20% of trials). Based on the CONSORT statement related analysis, a post-2010 publication (β coefficient 2.394, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.168-3.620) and funding (β coefficient 4.456, 95% CI: 3.009-5.903) represented independent and significant predictors of a high overall reporting quality. However, only a funding source (β coefficient 1.305, 95% CI 0.219-2.391) was associated with an increased OQS based on STRICTA analysis.
conclusionThe findings indicated that RCTs on acupuncture for PHN generally had a sub-optimal reporting quality, a situation that improved for those published after 2010 or with funding sources. Therefore, rigorous adherence to the CONSORT statement and the STRICTA guidelines should be emphasized in future studies.
Indexed as
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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.