Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33157993›Full record

ArticleMedicine2020

Safety and efficacy of complementary and alternative medicine in the treatment of autism spectrum disorder: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

Biqin Shuai, Hongjiao Jin, Yong Lin, Renrong Duan, Ning Zhao, Zhu Li, Jiao Mao, Yan Luo, Mengyu Shi

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 48% 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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Autism - A Systematic Review.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025
    Pooled it
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

9 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Biqin ShuaiThe First People's Hospital of Zunyi (The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University), Huichuan District, Zunyi, Guizhou 563000, China.
Hongjiao Jin
Renrong Duan
Ning Zhao
Zhu Li
Jiao Mao
Yan Luo
Mengyu Shi
Health First · USFirst People’s Hospital of Zunyi · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of complementary and alternative medicine in the treatment of autism spectrum disorder. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will electronically search Pubmed, Medline, Embase, Web of Science, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trial, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Biomedical Literature Database, China Science Journal Database, and Wan-fang Database from their inception. Also, we will manually retrieve other resources, including reference lists of identified publications, conference articles, and gray literature. The clinical randomized controlled trials or quasi-randomized controlled trials related to complementary and alternative medicine treating autism spectrum disorder will be included in the study. The language is limited to Chinese and English. Research selection, data extraction, and research quality assessment will be independently completed by 2 researchers. Data were synthesized by using a fixed-effect model or random-effect model depend on the heterogeneity test. The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) scores will be the primary outcomes. The scores of the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist and the Ritvo-Freeman Real Life Rating Scale will also be assessed as secondary outcomes. RevMan V.5.3 statistical software will be used for meta-analysis, and the level of evidence will be assessed by Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE). Continuous data will be expressed in the form of weighted mean difference or standardized mean difference with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), whereas dichotomous data will be expressed in the form of relative risk with 95% CIs. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The protocol of this systematic review does not require ethical approval because it does not involve humans. We will publish this article in peer-reviewed journals and presented at relevant conferences. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: OSF Registries, DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/ HA97R (https://osf.io/ha97r).

Indexed as

Complementary TherapiesMeta-Analysis as TopicResearch DesignSystematic Reviews as TopicAutism Spectrum DisorderChildHumansRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTreatment Outcome

Identifiers

PMID33157993
PMCPMC7647561
OpenAlexW3096064370

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.