Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38165870›Full record

SynthesisPloS one2024

Effects of acupuncture treatment for myasthenia gravis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Hua Xue, Li Zeng, Hongxian He, Dongxun Xu, Kaixin Ren

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in PloS one, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 31% 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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. 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 at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Hua XueDepartment of Neurology, Sichuan Taikang Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.ORCID 0009-0002-8366-6977
Li ZengDepartment of Respiratory, Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise, Guangxi, China.
Hongxian HeDepartment of Rehabilitation, Sichuan Taikang Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Dongxun XuDepartment of Neurology, Sichuan Taikang Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Kaixin RenAffiliated Hospital of Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities · CNYunnan University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRandomized controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture for myasthenia gravis (MG) were searched and the efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of MG was evaluated by meta-analysis.

methodsWe searched for RCTs in six main electronic databases, and collected RCTs of acupuncture treatment for MG from database creation to 28 February 2023. The main outcome was the effective rate and the secondary outcome was the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) relative clinical score, absolute clinical score (ACS) of MG, Quantitive myasthenia gravis score (QMG), quality of life, and adverse events. Odds ratios (ORs) and weighted mean differences (WMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to assess pooled effect estimates using Review Manager software.

resultsA total of 14 RCTs were included. Meta-analysis showed that the effective rate in the acupuncture group was significantly improved compared with conventional Western medicine alone [OR = 4.28, 95% CI (2.95, 6, 22), P<0.005]. The pooled WMDs revealed that TCM relative clinical score [WMD = -2.22, 95% CI = (-2.53, -1.90), P<0.005], ACS of MG [WMD = -3.14, 95% CI = (-3.67, -2.62), P<0.005], and QMG [WMD = -0.88, 95% CI = (-1.46, -0.29), P<0.005] in the acupuncture group was lower than the control group. Adverse reactions related to acupuncture and quality of life were less mentioned among included RCTs.

conclusionThis meta-analysis demonstrated that acupuncture as an auxiliary may play a positive role in treating MG. It can improve the effective rate of treatment, and reduce TCM relative clinical score, ACS of MG, and QMG. However, the quality of included studies was generally low and caution should be exercised when considering this treatment option. In the future, more rigorous study designs and high-quality RCTs are needed to verify the efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of MG, because the results of high-quality RCTs are more reliable and accurate.

Indexed as

Acupuncture TherapyMyasthenia GravisHumansMedicine, Chinese TraditionalQuality of LifeResearch Design

Identifiers

PMID38165870
PMCPMC10760751
OpenAlexW4390496645

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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.