ArticleJTCVS open2023
Acupuncture after valve surgery is feasible and shows promise in reducing postoperative atrial fibrillation: The ACU-Heart pilot trial.
Article in JTCVS open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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
6 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of electroacupuncture on the incidence of postoperative supraventricular arrhythmia and sleep quality in patients undergoing thoracoscopic surgery: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Trial
- The Anxiety-AFib connection: a systematic review of mental health and arrhythmia interactions.Global cardiology science & practice · 2026Review
- Acupuncture and Metabolic-Mitochondrial Remodeling in Atrial Fibrillation: A Systematic Review and Research Recommendations.International journal of general medicine · 2026Review
- Sessions of acupuncture and nutritional therapy evaluation for atrial fibrillation (Santé-AF): a randomised feasibility study.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2025Article
- Does perioperative electroacupuncture reduce the incidence of atrial fibrillation after lung cancer surgery? A randomized, controlled, assessor-blinded clinical trial.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Electroacupuncture pretreatment mediates sympathetic nerves to alleviate myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury via CRH neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus.Chinese medicine · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objective: Acupuncture is an effective treatment for arrythmias and postoperative symptoms but has not been investigated after cardiac surgery. Acupuncture After Heart Surgery is a prospective, randomized, controlled pilot trial of daily inpatient acupuncture or standard care after valve surgery with the primary end point being feasibility and secondary end points being reduction in postoperative atrial fibrillation incidence and postoperative symptoms. Methods: A total of 100 patients without a history of atrial fibrillation underwent primary valve surgery via sternotomy and randomized 1:1 to acupuncture (51) or standard care (49). The acupuncture group received daily inpatient sessions starting on postoperative day 1. Postoperative symptoms (pain, nausea, stress, anxiety) were assessed once daily in the standard care group and before/after daily intervention in the acupuncture group. The groups were comparable except for age (acupuncture: 55.6 ± 11.4 years, standard care: 61.0 ± 9.3 years; Results: The Acupuncture After Heart Surgery pilot trial met primary and secondary end points. There were no adverse events. An average of 3.8 (±1.1) acupuncture sessions were delivered per patient during a mean hospital stay of 4.6 days (±1.3). Acupuncture was associated with a reduction in pain, nausea, stress, and anxiety after each session ( Conclusions: Acupuncture after valve surgery is feasible, is well tolerated, and has clinical benefit. The reduction noted in postoperative atrial fibrillation incidence will inform larger trials designed to further investigate the impact of acupuncture on postoperative atrial fibrillation and medical outcomes.
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.