Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42094950›Full record

SynthesisFrontiers in medicine2026

Evidence map for randomized controlled trials of treatment of acupuncture and moxibustion for dry eye disease.

Qidi Liu, Xiaobing Yang, Yanyan Hong, Tingting Wang, Sixuan Han

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Frontiers in medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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.

Qidi LiuSchool of Nursing, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
Xiaobing YangSchool of Nursing, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
Yanyan HongDepartment of Nursing, Nanjing Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
Tingting WangDepartment of Nursing, Nanjing Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
Sixuan HanDepartment of Nursing, Nanjing Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: This study systematically integrated the clinical evidence on acupuncture and moxibustion treatments for dry eye disease through evidence mapping, with the aim of providing more intuitive and reliable evidence-based support for the clinical management of dry eye disease with acupuncture and moxibustion. Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on acupuncture and moxibustion for dry eye disease published from database inception to December 1, 2025 were retrieved from China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP Database, WanFang Data, China Biology Medicine disc (CBM), PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library. The methodological quality of the included RCTs was evaluated using the Risk of Bias 2.0 (RoB 2.0) tool. An evidence map was used to present the basic characteristics, interventions, outcome indicators, and quality assessment results of the included studies. Results: A total of 319 studies were included. Six traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome types were involved, among which liver-kidney yin deficiency syndrome was the most common, accounting for 54.55%. Regarding interventions, 17 types of monotherapy and 31 types of combination therapy were identified. Outcome indicators were classified into 13 categories, with the top three most frequently used being ocular surface health assessment indicators, TCM symptom scores, and clinical efficacy. Overall, the methodological quality of the included literature was generally low. Conclusion: Acupuncture and moxibustion show certain advantages in the treatment of dry eye disease; however, the methodological design of existing RCTs still requires improvement. The application of TCM-related outcome indicators in dry eye disease assessment, as well as the standardized use of TCM syndrome differentiation, also need to be strengthened. Future studies should strictly adhere to randomization requirements and appropriately handle data to provide higher-level evidence supporting acupuncture and moxibustion for dry eye disease.

Indexed as

acupuncturedry eye diseaseevidence mapmoxibustionrandomized controlled trial

Identifiers

PMID42094950
PMCPMC13139007

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.