ArticleLangenbeck's archives of surgery2023
Personalized checkpoint acupuncture can reduce postoperative pain after abdominal surgery-a STRICTA-conform pilot study.
Article in Langenbeck's archives of surgery, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of Checkpoint Acupuncture on Postoperative Pain Following Intestinal Surgery: A Feasibility Study.Medical acupuncture · 2026Article
- A Bibliometric Analysis of Acupuncture Treatment of Postoperative Complications from 2003 to 2023.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2025Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOptimal pain management is one of the core elements of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS®) protocols and remains a challenge. Acupuncture (AC) is an effective treatment for various pain conditions. Systematic and personalized allocation of acupoints may be decisive for efficacy.
methodsBased on the predominant pressure sensitivity of six gastrointestinal (GI) checkpoints (G1-G6), we devised a method to detect personalized patterns of pain and a corresponding set of acupoints. We performed a single AC treatment with semi-permanent needles and assessed the visual analogue scale (VAS) score, pain threshold based on pressure algometry (PA), and temperature changes on abdominal skin areas before and 5 min after AC.
resultsBetween April and June 2021, thirty-eight patients were prospectively included in this pilot study. The mean reduction in subjective pain sensation as assessed by VAS was 86%, paralleled by an augmentation of the pain threshold as measured by PA by 64%. A small but significant increase in the skin temperature was observed above the abdominal surface. These effects were independent of the type of surgery.
conclusionCheckpoint acupuncture may be a complementary tool for postoperative pain management. Further investigations are needed to explore this analgesic effect.
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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.