SynthesisPloS one2025
The efficacy and safety of electrical acupoint stimulation (EAS) for knee osteoarthritis (KOA): A GRADE-assessed systematic review, meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Application value of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation in improving knee joint function after knee arthroplasty in elderly patients.American journal of translational research · 2026Article
- Pain Modulation, Inflammation-Regulatory Mechanisms, and Translational Boundaries of Evidence for Acupuncture-Related Therapies in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Structured Narrative Review.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
- Infrapatellar Fat Pad in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Comprehensive Review of Pathophysiology and Targeted Therapeutic Strategies.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Electrical acupoint stimulation (EAS) is proposed as a potentially beneficial treatment for patients suffering from knee osteoarthritis (KOA). This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to assess the assess the effectiveness and safety of EAS for KOA. To identify eligible RCTs, a systematic search for eligible RCTs is conducted through 6 November 2024 in 12 electronic literature databases, utilizing relevant keywords. The analysis applies a random-effects model to compute RRs and 95% CIs for the dichotomous outcome, alongside the SMD and 95% CIs for continuous outcomes. This meta-analysis includes 63 RCTs with a total of 6475 participants. The pooled analysis reveals that EAS increases the overall response rate by 19.5% (RR: 1.195, 95% CI: 1.130 to 1.264, P < 0.001; low certainty). For continuous outcomes, EAS produces large effects on WOMAC total score (SMD = -1.72, 95% CI -2.19 to -1.24; P < 0.001; low certainty), VAS score (SMD = -1.92, 95% CI -2.44 to -1.39; P < 0.001; very low certainty), WOMAC stiffness (SMD = -1.12, 95% CI -1.65 to -0.59; P < 0.001; low certainty) and Lysholm score (SMD = 1.10, 95% CI 0.47 to 1.73; P = 0.001; low certainty). It yields medium effects on WOMAC pain (SMD = -0.74, 95% CI -1.10 to -0.37; P < 0.001; low certainty), Lequesne index (SMD = -0.70, 95% CI -0.97 to -0.42; P < 0.001; low certainty) and WOMAC function (SMD = -0.51, 95% CI -0.97 to -0.05; P = 0.03; low certainty). There are no significant effects on peak quadriceps torque (SMD = 0.21, 95% CI -0.42 to 0.83; P = 0.518; low certainty) or knee range of motion (SMD = 0.66, 95% CI -0.07 to 1.38; P = 0.077; low certainty). Trial sequential analysis indicates that the required information size is met. This review suggests that EAS may be an effective and relatively safe adjunctive option for KOA; however, the certainty of the evidence is low due to substantial heterogeneity and potential biases. Higher-quality, rigorously designed RCTs with standardized reporting are needed to confirm these findings.
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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.