ArticleEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2020
A New Therapy for Vitiligo Using Fire Needles: A Systematic Review of Evidence from 3618 Subjects.
Article in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic Evaluation and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials of Fire Needle Combined Phototherapy for the Treatment of Vitiligo.BioMed research international · 2022Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of fire needle therapy in treating non-segmental stable vitiligo: A randomized self-controlled clinical trial.Journal of cosmetic dermatology · 2024Trial
- Fire Needling Acupuncture Reduces Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs) Formation and Inhibits TLR4/NF-κB/LCN2 Pathway in Psoriasis-Like Skin Lesions.Journal of inflammation research · 2026Article
- From Mechanisms to Clinical Practice: Advances in Vitiligo Treatment Across Western Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine.Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology · 2026Review
- Filiform fire needling therapy relieves T cells-mediated melanocyte apoptosis and dysfunction by inhibiting JAK/STAT3 pathway via Mfsd4a in vitiligo.Chinese medicine · 2025Article
- Topical halometasone cream combined with fire needle pre-treatment for treatment of primary cutaneous amyloidosis: Two case reports.World journal of clinical cases · 2022Article
- Efficacy and Safety of Fire Needle Therapy for Flat Warts: Evidence from 29 Randomized Controlled Trials.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionFire needle therapy has been reported as an effective treatment for vitiligo. However, current clinical evidence has not been systematically evaluated. The aim of this study was to determine whether fire needle therapy is effective and safe for treating vitiligo.
methodsSeven databases were searched until October 2019 for randomized controlled trials on fire needle therapy, with and without conventional treatments, versus any type of conventional therapy for treating vitiligo. The RevMan 5.3.5 software was used to perform meta-analysis of the included studies.
resultsForty-seven trials comprising 3618 patients were included. Fire needle combined with conventional vitiligo treatments had a higher efficacy (risk ratio (RR): 1.55, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.46-1.65,
conclusionsFire needle therapy combined with other conventional treatments is useful in treating vitiligo. Further studies with larger sample sizes should be performed to make a conclusive judgment. This trial is registered with CRD42018094918.
Identifiers
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.