SynthesisPloS one2022
Effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for postoperative ileus following gastrointestinal surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
10 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effect of immunonutrition on postoperative ileus following colorectal cancer surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of therapeutic means for postoperative ileus: an umbrella review of meta-analyses.Langenbeck's archives of surgery · 2025Pooled it
- Acupuncture for postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction in cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in oncology · 2023Pooled it
- Yiqi Daozhi Formula Reduces the M1 Polarization of Macrophages in Mice With Postoperative Ileus Through Mediating Glycolysis Metabolism.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2026Article
- Acupuncture for postoperative ileus: Advancement and underlying mechanisms.World journal of gastrointestinal surgery · 2025Article
- Muscarinic Receptor-Mediated Electroacupuncture Modulation of Reactive Enteric Glial Cells Ameliorates Postoperative Ileus.Journal of inflammation research · 2025Article
- Article
- The Impact of Inpatient Acupuncture on a Mixed Hospital Floor: A Pragmatic 3-Month Cost-Effectiveness Retrospective Evaluation.Medical acupuncture · 2024Article
- Clinical observation of gastrointestinal function recovery in patients after hepatobiliary surgery.World journal of gastrointestinal surgery · 2024Article
- The State of 21st Century Acupuncture in the United States.Journal of pain research · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPostoperative ileus (POI) is an important complication of gastrointestinal (GI) surgery. Acupuncture has been increasingly used in treating POI. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for POI following GI surgery.
methodsSeven databases (PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wan fang Data, VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database) and related resources were searched from inception to May 30, 2021. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting the acupuncture for POI in GI were included. The quality of RCTs was assessed by the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias tool, and the certainty of the evidence was evaluated by the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) approach. A meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.4 software.
resultsEighteen RCTs involving 1413 participants were included. The meta-analysis showed that acupuncture could reduce the time to first flatus (TFF) (standardized mean difference [SMD] = -1.14, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -1.54 to -0.73, P < 0.00001), time to first defecation (TFD) (SMD = -1.31, 95% CI: -1.88 to -0.74, P < 0.00001), time to bowel sounds recovery (TBSR) (SMD = -1.57, 95% CI: -2.14 to -1.01, P < 0.00001), and length of hospital stay (LOS) (mean difference [MD] = -1.68, 95% CI: -2.55 to -0.80, P = 0.0002) compared with usual care. A subgroup analysis found that acupuncture at distal acupoints once daily after surgery had superior effects on reducing TFF and TFD. A sensitivity analysis supported the validity of the finding. Acupuncture also manifested an effect of reducing TFF, TFD and TBSR compared with sham acupuncture but the result was not stable. Relatively few trials have reported whether adverse events have occurred.
conclusionsAcupuncture showed a certain effect in reducing POI following GI surgery with very low-to-moderate quality of evidence. The overall safety of acupuncture should be further validated. More high-quality, large-scale, and multicenter original trials are needed in the future.
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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.