Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33441387›Full record

SynthesisBMJ supportive & palliative care2021

Acupuncture for palliative cancer pain management: systematic review.

Juan Yang, Dietlind L Wahner-Roedler, Xuan Zhou, Lesley A Johnson, Alex Do, Deirdre R Pachman, Tony Y Chon, Manisha Salinas, Denise Millstine, Brent A Bauer

Open access · hybridAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMJ supportive & palliative care, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
45citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
17.4field-weighted citation impact, top 1% 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

45 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 82 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 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Juan YangDivision of General Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0850-679X
Dietlind L Wahner-RoedlerDivision of General Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
Xuan ZhouFormula-pattern Research Center, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Lesley A JohnsonDepartment of Women's Health/Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA.
Alex DoDivision of General Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
Deirdre R PachmanCenter for Palliative Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
Tony Y ChonDivision of General Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
Manisha SalinasDivision of Family Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, USA.
Denise MillstineDepartment of Women's Health/Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA.
Brent A BauerDivision of General Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA Bauer.Brent@mayo.edu.
Mayo Clinic in Florida · USMayo Clinic · USMayo Clinic in Arizona · USJinan University · CNWinnMed · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPain is one of the most common and problematic symptoms encountered by patients with cancer. Due to the multifactorial aetiology, pain management of these patients frequently requires multidisciplinary interventions including conventional support and specialty palliative care. Acupuncture has been identified as a possible adjunctive therapy for symptom management in cancer pain, and there is currently no systematic review focused solely on the evidence of acupuncture on cancer pain in palliative care.

objectiveTo critically analyse currently available publications regarding the use of acupuncture for pain management among patients with cancer in palliative care settings.

methodsMultiple academic databases were searched from inception to 29 October 2020. Randomised controlled trials involving acupuncture in palliative care for treatment of cancer-related pain were synthesised. Data were extracted by two independent reviewers, and methodological quality of each included study was assessed using the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (OCEBM) 2011 Levels of Evidence.

resultsFive studies (n=189) were included in this systematic review. Results indicated a favourable effect of acupuncture on pain relief in palliative care for patients with cancer. According to OCEBM 2011 Levels of Evidence, they were level 2 in one case (20%), level 3 in two cases (40%) and level 4 in the remaining (40%). Low-level evidence adversely affects the reliability of findings.

conclusionsAcupuncture may be an effective and safe treatment associated with pain reduction in the palliative care of patients with cancer. Further high-quality, adequately powered studies are needed in the future.

Indexed as

Acupuncture TherapyCancer PainNeoplasmsHumansPain ManagementPalliative CareReproducibility of Resultscancerpainsupportive care

Identifiers

PMID33441387
PMCPMC8380897
OpenAlexW3118370536

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.