Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37396153›Full record

ArticleJournal of traditional and complementary medicine2023

Meridian energy analysis may predict the prognosis of patients with advanced cancers receiving palliative care.

Ming-Cheng Chung, Pei-Yu Tsai, Chun-Min Chen, Chueh-Ko Yang, Hen-Hong Chang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of traditional and complementary medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. 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

5 authors.

Ming-Cheng ChungGraduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, and Chinese Medicine Research Center, China Medical University, Taichung, 404, Taiwan.
Pei-Yu TsaiDepartment of Hospice-Palliative Care, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, 500, Taiwan.
Chun-Min ChenBig Data Center, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, 500, Taiwan.
Chueh-Ko YangWomen's Health Research Laboratory, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, 500, Taiwan.
Hen-Hong ChangGraduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, and Chinese Medicine Research Center, China Medical University, Taichung, 404, Taiwan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background and aim: A better understanding of irreversible prognoses in palliative care is crucial for improving patients' quality of life and their sense of dignity. We examined whether measurements of meridian electrical conductance can noninvasively and objectively predict survival time in a hospice patient population. Experimental procedure: This was a single-center cohort study. Between 2019 and 2020, we measured skin conductance from 24 representative acupoints of 12 meridians on both sides of the body in 181 advanced cancer patients within 48 h of hospitalization and monitored their survival time. The Palliative Prognostic Score (PaP Score) was calculated for each patient, classifying them into one of three prognosis groups: Group A, B, or C. Factors associated with short-term and long-term survival were identified using multivariate regression analysis. Statistical differences in survival times were analyzed between the meridian electrical conductance measurements and PaP Scores. Results and conclusion: Analyses of the clinicopathological data from terminal cancer patients revealed that male sex, mean meridian electrical conductance measurements of ≤8.8 μA, and PaP Scores in Group C were independent predictors of short-term survival. Mean meridian electrical conductance measurements of ≤8.8 μA demonstrated good sensitivity (85.1%) and adequate specificity (60.6%) for short-term survival. A survival curve analysis revealed a mortality rate of 90.6% at 30 days among patients with meridian electrical conductance measurements of ≤8.8 μA. A mean meridian electrical conductance measurement of ≤8.8 μA can objectively assess short-term survival with advanced cancer and reduce nonbeneficial medical treatment.

Indexed as

CancersMeridian electrical conductancePalliative prognostic scoreSurvival timeTraditional Chinese medicine

Identifiers

PMID37396153
PMCPMC10310863

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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.