Evidence mapPaperPMID 40740962Full record

SynthesisFrontiers in medicine2025

Effectiveness and safety of acupuncture and related therapies for pediatric asthma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Jixuan Wang, Shun Fan, Kaihan Su, Jiacheng Zhang, Xuanjun Lu, Shengxuan Guo, Siyuan Hu

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Frontiers 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. Article
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

7 authors.

Jixuan Wang *Department of Clinical Trial Center, First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China.
Shun Fan *National Clinical Research Center for Chinese Medicine Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Tianjin, China.
Kaihan SuNational Clinical Research Center for Chinese Medicine Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Tianjin, China.
Jiacheng ZhangNational Clinical Research Center for Chinese Medicine Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Tianjin, China.
Xuanjun LuDepartment of Clinical Trial Center, First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China.
Shengxuan GuoDepartment of Clinical Trial Center, First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China.
Siyuan HuDepartment of Clinical Trial Center, First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture and related therapies as an adjunct to standard treatment (ST) in children with asthma. Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing acupuncture combined with ST versus ST alone for pediatric asthma have been included. 8 databases and 3 clinical trial registries were searched, with the search completed up to January 31, 2025. The risk of bias in the included studies was assessed using the Risk of Bias 2 (RoB 2) tool. Data from the included studies were analyzed using R software version 4.4.2. The quality of evidence was evaluated using the Grades of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Results: A total of 16 randomized controlled trials involving 1,675 participants have been included. Compared to ST, the addition of acupuncture has significantly improved the percent predicted values of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1pred%) [MD = 6.02, 95% CI (1.28, 10.76), Conclusion: Acupuncture has shown positive effects on certain serum immune and inflammatory biomarkers and FEV1 in pediatric asthma. It has not shown beneficial effects on FEV1/FVC. A substantial proportion of the evidence has been of low quality, and confidence in the results has been downgraded due to a serious risk of bias and inconsistency. The actual effects may differ substantially from the findings of this study. High-quality randomized controlled trials are still needed to confirm these findings in the future. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420251039313.

Indexed as

acupunctureacupuncture-related therapiesmeta-analysispediatric asthmasystematic review

Identifiers

PMID40740962
PMCPMC12307200

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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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.