Trial reportJAMA neurology2026
Effect of Electroacupuncture on Postherpetic Neuralgia: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
Trial report in JAMA neurology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04560361 (The Analgesic Effect of Electroacupuncture on Postherpetic Neuralgia), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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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
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The Analgesic Effect of Electroacupuncture on Postherpetic Neuralgia: a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial
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Authors and funding
28 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
importancePostherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a refractory neuropathic pain condition with limited therapeutic options. Although electroacupuncture has demonstrated potential analgesic effects, high-quality evidence from rigorous randomized clinical trials remains limited.
objectiveTo determine whether electroacupuncture reduces pain severity compared with sham electroacupuncture and evaluate its safety in patients with PHN. Design, Setting, and Participants: This multicenter, randomized, sham-controlled clinical trial took place at 7 tertiary hospitals in China and enrolled participants from October 2020 to July 2022, with the last follow-up in September 2022. Data analyses were performed from August to December 2025. Participants with PHN aged 45 to 75 years and moderate to severe pain (11-point Numeric Rating Scale [NRS-11] score ≥4) were recruited. Of 1072 patients screened, 624 were excluded. The remaining 448 participants were randomized to electroacupuncture (n = 225) or sham electroacupuncture (n = 223); 383 participants (85.49%) completed the trial.
interventionTwenty sessions of electroacupuncture or sham electroacupuncture over 4 weeks, followed by a 4-week posttreatment follow-up. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was the change in the NRS-11 scores from baseline to week 4, with responders defined as participants achieving a 30% or more reduction in NRS-11 scores.
resultsOf 448 participants, the mean (SD) age was 63.19 (9.26) years, 233 (52.01%) were male, and 215 were female (47.99%). At week 4, the electroacupuncture group had a greater decrease in the NRS-11 scores (-1.52) than the sham electroacupuncture group (-0.99) with an adjusted mean difference of -0.53 (95% CI, -0.61 to -0.43; P < .001), and the responder rate was significantly higher in the electroacupuncture group (46.68%) than in the sham electroacupuncture group (24.28%) (adjusted risk difference, 22.40%; 95% CI, 13.02%-31.79%; P < .001). These treatment benefits persisted through a 1-month follow-up; no clinically significant adverse events were observed. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Among patients with PHN in this study, electroacupuncture provided a statistically significant reduction in pain severity, increased responder rates, and improved pain-related functional outcomes. These benefits suggest that electroacupuncture may be a useful nonpharmacological option for integrated management of PHN.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04560361.
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