ReviewChinese medicine2023
Adverse effects associated with acupuncture therapies: An evidence mapping from 535 systematic reviews.
Review in Chinese medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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
29 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of neuromodulation techniques for migraine prophylaxis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for insomnia disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Pooled it
- Comparisons of acupuncture therapies combining conventional treatment in the management of vascular cognitive impairment: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2025Pooled it
- Acupuncture for hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy in neonates.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Efficacy of non-invasive brain stimulation for post-stroke sleep disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Pooled it
- Buccal Acupuncture for Early Postoperative Catheter-Related Bladder Discomfort Following Ureteroscopic Lithotripsy: A Randomized, Sham-Controlled Trial.Journal of pain research · 2026Trial
- Wireless IoT-enabled microneedle electroceutical for personalized and connected pain management.Nature communications · 2026Article
- A 62-Year-Old Man With Tricuspid Valve Endocarditis, Bacteremia, and Septic Pulmonary Embolism Following Long-Needle Acupuncture.The American journal of case reports · 2026Article
- Thoracic spondylodiscitis following acupuncture in an immunocompetent middle-aged male: a case report.The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association · 2026Article
- Perforation of small intestine as a rare adverse event of acupuncture: a case report.International journal of emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Septic Arthritis Secondary to Acupuncture in an Immunocompromised Patient With Multiple Comorbid Conditions.The American journal of case reports · 2026Article
- AI-enabled comprehensive patient safety management in acupuncture: from risk identification to continuous quality improvement.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Core Acupoint Prescription Patterns for Primary Dysmenorrhea: Data Mining and Network-Based Analysis.Journal of pain research · 2026Article
- Effectiveness and safety of acupoint catgut embedding for patients with mild psoriasis and overweight: study protocol of a multicenter double-blind randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Comparing the Attitudes of Healthcare Professionals and Cancer Patients Toward the Integration and Perceived Effectiveness of Complementary and Alternative Medicine.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Analysis of Adverse Events in Acupuncture and Moxibustion Treatments in Japan and the Current Situation of Hiroshima University Hospital Kampo Clinical Center.Medical acupuncture · 2025Article
- Dystonia: pathophysiology and the role of acupuncture in treatment.Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift (1946) · 2025Review
- Comparing Dry Needle Therapy and Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy for Tendinopathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translation · 2025Review
- Study protocol for a prospective, investigator-initiated clinical trial on the vascular effects of acupuncture in the abdomen and lower limbs for patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome.International journal of colorectal disease · 2025Article
- Acupuncture Education for Nonphysician Practitioners in the UK: An Overview.Medical acupuncture · 2025Article
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
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectiveConsidering that physicians and patients widely use acupuncture, it is necessary to explore its adverse effects during treatment. Herein, an evidence map was generated based on published studies to identify acupuncture-induced adverse effects and assess their severity, with the overarching goal of providing references for safe and effective implementation.
methodsA comprehensive literature search was performed in four public databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of science, and the Cochrane Library) to identify relevant studies published up to 15
resultsA total of 535 SRs involving 33 adverse reactions were included. Among them, 22 studies were rated as high quality, 28 as moderate, 106 as low, and the rest were of critically-low quality. Numerous adverse effects were described in the studies, including syncope (86 SRs), organ or tissue injury (233 SRs), systemic reactions (113 SRs), infection (19 SRs), and other adverse events (373 SRs). Importantly, these adverse reactions were mainly associated with 19 acupuncture techniques, including electroacupuncture (n = 67), manual acupuncture (n = 47) and acupoint catgut embedding (n = 41). Furthermore, the 535 SRs described 23 diseases, among which symptoms, signs or clinical findings (83 SRs), mental, behavioral or neurodevelopmental disorders (67 SRs), and diseases of the nervous system (66 SRs) had the highest incidence.
conclusionThis evidence mapping explores the adverse effects of acupuncture, showing that there are multiple types of adverse reactions to acupuncture, with milder symptoms. The methodological assessment revealed that most of the included studies were of low- or critically low-quality. Therefore, there is a need for future randomized controlled trials and SRs to comprehensively analyze acupuncture-related adverse events in order to provide reliable and credible evidence.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.