Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34956431›Full record

ArticlePain research & management

Quality of Evidence Supporting the Role of Acupuncture for the Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Jinke Huang, Mengxiong Lu, Yijun Zheng, Jinxin Ma, Xiangxue Ma, Yitian Wang, Kunli Zhang, Fengyun Wang, Xudong Tang

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Pain research & management. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
5.4field-weighted citation impact, top 5% 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

19 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Review
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 1 country.

Jinke HuangDepartment of Gastroenterology, Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5623-0564
Mengxiong LuDepartment of Gastroenterology, Peking University Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinical Medical School (Xiyuan), Beijing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3276-6487
Yijun ZhengDepartment of Gastroenterology, Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5945-2157
Jinxin MaDepartment of Gastroenterology, Peking University Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinical Medical School (Xiyuan), Beijing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5659-5360
Xiangxue MaDepartment of Gastroenterology, Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9214-2107
Yitian WangDepartment of Gastroenterology, Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9920-1931
Kunli ZhangDepartment of Gastroenterology, Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6121-8551
Fengyun WangDepartment of Gastroenterology, Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4058-7905
Xudong TangDepartment of Gastroenterology, Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0391-3895
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College · CNPeking University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo systematically collate, appraise, and synthesize the current evidence on acupuncture for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

methodsSystematic reviews (SRs)/meta-analyses (MAs) of acupuncture for IBS were searched in eight databases. For quality evaluation of the enrolled studies, Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR-2) was used for methodological quality, Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) for reporting quality, and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) for evidence quality.

resultsTen studies were included in our review. According to AMSTAR-2, only one study met all the criteria and was rated as high methodological quality, and the rest were rated as low or very low methodological quality. According to the PRISMA checklist, most of the items were fully reported, with the exception of Q5 (protocol and registration), Q8 (search), and Q27 (funding). With the GRADE system, no outcome measure was rated as high quality.

conclusionsAcupuncture may be a promising therapy for IBS. However, this conclusion must be treated with caution since the quality of SRs/MAs providing evidence is generally low.

Indexed as

Acupuncture TherapyIrritable Bowel SyndromeDatabases, FactualHumansResearch DesignResearch Report

Identifiers

PMID34956431
PMCPMC8694972
OpenAlexW4200412010

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.