SynthesisChinese journal of integrative medicine2025
Different Acupuncture Therapies for Postherpetic Neuralgia: An Overview of Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Chinese journal of integrative medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Global research trends and insights in acupuncture randomized controlled trials: a bibliometric analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Wrist-ankle acupuncture alleviates pain in the acute phase of herpes zoster: A randomized controlled trial.PloS one · 2025Trial
- Unraveling immune-inflammation-aging network interactions: an interpretable machine learning model predicts the risk of postherpetic neuralgia.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Potential mechanisms of acupuncture in regulating neuroinflammation and central sensitization in chronic pain: a narrative review of preclinical, clinical, and translational evidence.American journal of translational research · 2026Review
- Integrated Western and Traditional Chinese Medicine Approaches for Herpes Zoster and Post-Herpetic Neuralgia: A Narrative Review.Drug design, development and therapy · 2026Review
- Acupuncture for Postherpetic Neuralgia: An Evidence Mapping.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
- The application of acupuncture in the management of neuropathic orofacial pain: a narrative literature review.Journal of oral & facial pain and headache · 2025Review
- The efficacy of electroacupuncture for postherpetic neuralgia arising from herpes zoster affecting the cephalo-facial area: study protocol for a double center randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in medicine · 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
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPostherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is the most common complication of herpes zoster infection and affects patients' quality of life. Acupuncture therapy is regarded as a competitive method of treatment for analgesia.
objectiveTo summarize evidence from systematic reviews (SRs) and evaluate the effectiveness and safety of different acupuncture therapies for treating PHN.
methodsEight electronic databases were searched from their inception to August 5, 2022, including 4 international electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science) and 4 Chinese databases (Chinese Biomedical Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP Database and Wanfang Database). Methodological quality was assessed by A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR 2). The Risk of Bias in Systematic Review (ROBIS) tool was used to assess the risk of bias in SRs. Evidence level was assessed by the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.
resultsTotally, 7 SRs were included, including 128 studies and 9,792 patients. In AMSTAR 2, most of the SRs were of low or critically low levels since they had more than 1 critical deficiency. In ROBIS, 1 SR (14.29%) was rated as high risk, and the other 6 (85.71%) were rated as low risk. In the GRADE system, 9 outcomes (28.13%) were valued as high level, 5 (15.63%) as moderate level, 1 (3.13%) as low, and 17 (53.13%) as very low. In the effectiveness of acupuncture therapy, the group "moxibustion vs. original medical treatment" [mean difference (MD)=-1.44, 95% confidence interval (CI): -1.80 to -1.08, I
conclusionsAcupuncture therapy seems to be effective in treating PHN. Despite the evidence that suggested the advantages of acupuncture therapy in relieving pain and promoting efficacy and safety, the methodological quality was quite low. Further studies should pay more attention to the quality of original studies and evidence for SRs to confirm these findings. (PROSPERO registration No. CRD42022344790).
Indexed as
Identifiers
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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.