Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32894190›Full record

ArticleTrials2020

Acupuncture treatment for carotid atherosclerotic plaques: study protocol for a pilot randomized, single blinded, controlled clinical trial.

Junhe Zhou, Lin Zhao, Lingcui Meng, Huitao Liang, Ting Zhou, Siting Ye, Zhiqi Qi, Xichang Huang, Peng Zhou, Wenbin Fu

Open access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial Protocol
In one paragraph

Article in Trials, 2020. 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
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 29% 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.

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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

10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Junhe ZhouThe Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
Lin ZhaoThe Second Clinical College, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5763-9452
Lingcui MengUltrasonography Department, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
Huitao LiangThe Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
Ting ZhouUltrasonography Department, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
Siting YeUltrasonography Department, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
Zhiqi QiAcupuncture Department, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
Xichang HuangAcupuncture Department, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
Peng ZhouShenzhen Bao'an Research Centre for Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Shenzhen, China. zpszba@163.com.
Wenbin FuThe Second Clinical College, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. fuwenbin@139.com.
Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine · CNChina Association of Acupuncture-Moxibustion · CN

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China 81774411Sanming Project of Medicine in Shenzhen (CN) SZSM201806077
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCarotid atherosclerosis disease (CAD) is generally associated with the occurrence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular accidents. However, CAD has not been taken seriously enough in the clinic, which, coupled with the single treatment and prevention of CAD, has led to a generally low level of patient compliance. Therefore, acupuncture is expected to be a safe and effective therapy that can be maintained in the long term for patients with CAD. The study objective is to evaluate the efficiency and reliability of acupuncture to relieve CAD and provide a new therapeutic idea for the clinical treatment of CAD.

methodsThis is a three-arm randomized clinical trial in China. Three groups (TA, SA, and MC) will be randomly allocated at a 1:1:1 ratio. The study will enrol 105 cervical atherosclerosis plaque patients in total on a voluntary basis, with 35 patients in each group. The treatment will last for 12 weeks, with two treatments per week for twenty-four treatments in total.

resultsTwo 3D ultrasound indicators will be measured as the primary outcomes: the total plaque volume (PV) of the carotid artery on each side and the grey-scale median (GSM). The secondary outcomes will include intima-media thickness (IMT), lipid levels, apolipoprotein A-IV level, platelet count (PLT), fibrinogen (FIB), and platelet aggregation rate (PAR). All the outcomes will be assessed before treatment, after treatment, and after a 12-week follow-up period. This study will utilize per-protocol (PP) and intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis principles.

conclusionsThis trial is to evaluate the efficacy and reliability of acupuncture in relieving carotid atherosclerotic plaques by establishing acupuncture (TA), sham acupuncture (SA), and medication (MC) groups. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (no. YF2018-107-01). All data and findings will be provided by the principal investigator via email.

trial registrationChiCTR, ChiCTR1800019259 . Registered on 1 November 2018-retrospectively registered, http://www.chictr.org.cn/index.aspx.

Indexed as

Acupuncture TherapyPlaque, AtheroscleroticCarotid ArteriesCarotid Intima-Media ThicknessChinaHumansPilot ProjectsRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicReproducibility of ResultsTime FactorsTreatment OutcomeAcupunctureCarotid atherosclerosis diseaseCervical atherosclerosis plaqueVessel plaque quantification (VPQ)

Identifiers

PMID32894190
PMCPMC7487889
OpenAlexW3083043712

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.