Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40520812›Full record

ArticleJournal of pain research2025

Acupuncture as an Adjunctive Therapy to Etoricoxib for Patients with Acute Gouty Arthritis: Protocol for a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.

Yi-Ran Wang, Cun-Zhi Liu, Yan Cong, Ya-Wei Xi, Ying-Ying Xu, Bo Li, Yi Zhou, Jian-Feng Tu, Yi-Ming Fu, Wen Chen and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of pain research, 2025. 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

12 authors.

Yi-Ran WangInternational Acupuncture and Moxibustion Innovation Institute, School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Cun-Zhi LiuInternational Acupuncture and Moxibustion Innovation Institute, School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Yan CongDepartment of Rheumatology and Immunology, Lianyungang Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Lianyungang, People's Republic of China.
Ya-Wei XiAcupuncture-Moxibustion Department, Liangxiang Hospital of Beijing Fangshan District, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Ying-Ying XuEndocrine Department, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Bo LiDepartment of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, People's Republic of China.
Yi ZhouEndocrine Department, Xiamen Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xiamen, People's Republic of China.
Jian-Feng TuInternational Acupuncture and Moxibustion Innovation Institute, School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, People's Republic of China.ORCID 0000-0003-2887-3383
Yi-Ming FuInternational Acupuncture and Moxibustion Innovation Institute, School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Wen ChenInternational Acupuncture and Moxibustion Innovation Institute, School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Li-Qiong WangInternational Acupuncture and Moxibustion Innovation Institute, School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Guang-Xia ShiInternational Acupuncture and Moxibustion Innovation Institute, School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, People's Republic of China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose: Acute gouty arthritis (AGA) is often managed with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. However, patients still tolerate severe pain before the analgesic takes effect. Early adjuvant analgesia is necessary in the pharmacological management of AGA. Acupuncture has the advantage of quick analgesia; nevertheless, the evidence to support the use of early-acupuncture as an adjunctive therapy for AGA is limited. This study aims to assess the efficacy of acupuncture compared with sham acupuncture on pain relief among AGA patients who are concurrently receiving etoricoxib. Patients and methods: In this multicenter, randomized, controlled trial, total 160 eligible patients with AGA will be randomly allocated into acupuncture group and sham acupuncture group in a 1:1 ratio. All patients will receive oral etoricoxib followed by 30-minute acupuncture or sham acupuncture for 1 session. The primary outcome is the change in pain intensity (Visual Analogue Scale) after the 30-minute acupuncture treatment from baseline. The secondary outcomes include tenderness of study joint, swelling of study joint, rescue medicine, credibility and expectation evaluation and blinding assessment. Adverse events will be recorded during the trial. All the patients who are randomized in this study will be included in the intention-to-treat analysis. Conclusion: The results of this study will provide evidence for acupuncture used in the treatment of acute gouty arthritis and promote clinical decisions to physicians and patients. Trial Registration: The protocol has been approved by the Medical Ethical Committee of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (2023BZYLL0103) and registered at International Traditional Medicine Clinical Trial Registry (ITMCTR2024000218; http://itmctr.ccebtcm.org.cn/zh-CN/UserPlatform/ProjectView?pid=1749b951-b101-418f-8f82-77be3c72ea00).

Indexed as

acupunctureacute gouty arthritiscomplementary medicinepain management

Identifiers

PMID40520812
PMCPMC12165196

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.