Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40128056›Full record

SynthesisMedicine2025

Efficacy of electroacupuncture on clinical signs and immunological factors in herpes zoster: The first systematic review, meta-analysis, and trial sequential analysis of randomized clinical trials.

Qiaoli Zhou, Mao Jing, Haitao Ren, Gaokai Li, Zongjiao Wang

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Medicine, 2025. 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
–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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
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.

Qiaoli ZhouDepartment of Nursing, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Mao JingDepartment of Acupuncture and moxibustion and Trauma College of Hubei University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.
Haitao RenSchool of Life and Health of Huzhou College, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China.
Gaokai LiSchool of Life and Health of Huzhou College, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China.
Zongjiao WangFitness Teaching and Research Office, Professional Tennis Academy, Wuhan Urban Vocational College, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.ORCID 0009-0003-2149-1590

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundElectroacupuncture (EA) is utilized to address various health conditions. Herein, we designed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of EA on clinical and immunological factors in herpes zoster (HZ) based on randomized clinical trials.

methodsFour international databases and 3 Chinese databases were searched until January 2024. We used RevMan 5.3 for meta-analysis and presented the data as standardized mean difference (SMD) or odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval.

resultsA total of 1361 records were identified in the databases and at last, 19 articles were entered into the meta-analysis. The result shows a negative pooled SMD of -2.55 (P < .00001) for the VAS score. The pooled SMD for cessation of pustules time in the case group compared to the control group was -0.69 (P = .0008), for pain relief time was -1.36 (P = .002), for the time to scab was -0.47 (P = .009), and for time to remove scab was -1.01 (P = .0003). The pooled OR for the incidence of postherpetic neuralgia was 0.11 (P < .00001), and the total effective rate was 4.25 (P < .00001). The pooled SMD for the cluster of differentiation (CD)3 count was 2.59 (P = .07), for the CD4 count was 2.81 (P = .04), for the CD8 count was -0.75 (P = .50), and for theCD4/CD8 ratio was 1.12 (P = .15).

conclusionsThe results indicate that the EA treatment had several significant benefits compared to Western medicine (WM) in HZ patients in terms of clinical and immunological factors. But, the combination of treatments of EA with WM had better effects compared to EA treatment alone.

Indexed as

ElectroacupunctureHerpes ZosterHumansRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTreatment Outcome

Identifiers

PMID40128056
PMCPMC11936656

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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.