SynthesisMedicine2021
The efficacy and safety of acupuncture in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in Medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 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
8 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Electroacupuncture in the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: mechanistic insights and therapeutic potential.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Article
- The Effects of Warm Acupuncture on the Expression ofCurrent issues in molecular biology · 2024Article
- Article
- Acupuncture, a Promising Therapy for Insulin Resistance and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.International journal of general medicine · 2024Review
- Electro-acupuncture reduced steatosis on MRI-PDFF in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: a randomized controlled pilot clinical trial.Chinese medicine · 2023Article
- Acupuncture improved hepatic steatosis in HFD-induced NAFLD rats by regulating intestinal microbiota.Frontiers in microbiology · 2023Article
- Therapeutic potential of traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of NAFLD: A promising drugActa pharmaceutica Sinica. B · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe aim of this study was to determine the efficacy and safety of acupuncture treatment (AT) or acupuncture plus conventional medicine (CM) versus CM alone using a meta-analysis of all published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
methodsEight databases were searched independently from inception to April 30, 2020. RCTs were included if they contained reports on the use acupuncture or the use of acupuncture combined with CM and compared with the use of CM. Summary odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to calculate the overall clinical efficacy. Secondary outcomes, namely aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and body mass index, were calculated by mean difference with 95% CIs.
resultsAfter the final screening, 8 RCTs with 939 patients were included. This meta-analysis showed that AT was superior to CM in improving overall clinical efficacy (OR = 3.19, 95% CI: 2.06-4.92, P < .00001). In addition, AT plus CM could significantly improve overall clinical efficacy compared to treatment with CM alone (OR = 5.11, 95% CI: 2.43-10.75, P < .0001). Moreover, the benefits were also demonstrated in other outcomes, including alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol indexes. However, AT plus CM could not decrease body mass index levels in comparison with CM. The safety profile of Acupuncture therapy was satisfactory. Taichong, Zusanli, Fenglong, and Sanyinjiao were major acupoints on NAFLD treatment.
conclusionAcupuncture may be effective and safe for treatment of NAFLD. However, due to insufficient methodological quality and sample size, further high-quality studies are needed.
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What Socratic 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 Socratic graph.