Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36543665›Full record

ArticlePain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses2023

Biological Correlates of the Effects of Auricular Point Acupressure on Pain.

Chao Hsing Yeh, Nada Lukkahatai, Xinran Huang, Hulin Wu, Hongyu Wang, Jingyu Zhang, Xinyi Sun, Thomas J Smith

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

Article in Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
2.8field-weighted citation impact, top 8% 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

21 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Invasive or noninvasive? A systematic review and network meta-analysis of acupuncture and acupressure to treat cancer pain.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Trial
  5. Trial
  6. Trial
  7. Trial
  8. Trial
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Article
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

8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Chao Hsing YehUniversity of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Cizik School of Nursing. Electronic address: chao.hsing.yeh@uth.tmc.edu.
Nada LukkahataiJohns Hopkins University School of Nursing.
Xinran HuangUniversity of Texas Health Science Center Houston School of Public Health.
Hulin WuUniversity of Texas Health Science Center Houston School of Public Health.
Hongyu WangUniversity of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Cizik School of Nursing; University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, McGovern Medical School.
Jingyu ZhangJohns Hopkins University Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.
Xinyi SunJohns Hopkins University Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.
Thomas J SmithJohns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Johns Hopkins University · USThe University of Texas Health Science Center · USThe University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston · US

Funding

Optimizing Self-Monitoring Smartphone App to Promote Adherence to COVID-19 Preventative Behaviors in African AmericansR01AG056587 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON · PI JOHNSON, CONSTANCE MARGARET, LUKKAHATAI, NADA · 2018 to 2022
$3.8M
NIA NIH HHS R01 AG056587
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTo identify candidate inflammatory biomarkers for the underlying mechanism of auricular point acupressure (APA) on pain relief and examine the correlations among pain intensity, interference, and inflammatory biomarkers.

designThis is a secondary data analysis.

methodsData on inflammatory biomarkers collected via blood samples and patient self-reported pain intensity and interference from three pilot studies (chronic low back pain, n = 61; arthralgia related to aromatase inhibitors, n = 20; and chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, n = 15) were integrated and analyzed. This paper reports the results based on within-subject treatment effects (change in scores from pre- to post-APA intervention) for each study group (chronic low back pain, cancer pain), between-group differences (changes in scores from pre- to post-intervention between targeted-point APA [T-APA] and non-targeted-point APA [NT-APA]), and correlations among pain intensity, interference, and biomarkers.

resultsWithin-group analysis (the change score from pre- to post-APA) revealed statistically significant changes in three biomarkers: TNF-α (cancer pain in the APA group, p = .03), β-endorphin (back pain in the APA group, p = .04), and IL-2 (back pain in the NT-APA group, p = .002). Based on between-group analysis in patients with chronic low back pain (T-APA vs NT-APA), IL-4 had the largest effect size (0.35), followed by TNF-α (0.29). A strong positive monotonic relationship between IL-1β and IL-2 was detected.

conclusionsThe current findings further support the potential role of inflammatory biomarkers in the analgesic effects of APA. More work is needed to gain a comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanisms of APA on chronic pain. Because it is simple, inexpensive, and has no negative side effects, APA can be widely disseminated as an alternative to opioids.

Indexed as

AcupressureCancer PainLow Back PainHumansInterleukin-2Treatment OutcomeTumor Necrosis Factor-alphaInterleukin-2Tumor Necrosis Factor-alphaAuricular point acupressureChemokinesCytokinesInflammatory biomarkersSelf-management

Identifiers

PMID36543665
PMCPMC9928890
OpenAlexW4312054433

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
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.