SynthesisFrontiers in medicine2026
Global research trends and insights in acupuncture randomized controlled trials: a bibliometric analysis.
Synthesis in Frontiers in medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
17 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objective: To identify the research status, major contributors, and emerging frontiers in acupuncture randomized controlled trials (RCTs) through bibliometric analysis, assisting clinicians, researchers, and policymakers in rapidly capturing valuable research hotspots and potential directions. Methods: Articles related to acupuncture RCTs published between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2024, were retrieved 1,908 articles from the Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus. Multiple software tools (Origin 2021, CiteSpace, and VOSviewer) have been integrated to comprehensively visualize relationships among authors, journals, keywords, institutions, and countries. Results: The number of acupuncture RCTs grew steadily from 59 articles in 2010 to a peak of 205 in 2022, later stabilizing at 160. China led in output (1,096 articles), followed by the United States (263) and South Korea (216). Leading institutions included Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (166 articles; 2,084 citations) and Kyung Hee University (112 articles; top non-Chinese institution). Chinese scholars Liu Zhishun (most publications) and Liu Cunzhi (most citations) were the most prolific and highly cited researchers, respectively. The keywords of greatest interest were "Acupuncture" (1,188 times) and "Randomized Controlled Trial" (439 times). The next three most frequent keywords were "Electroacupuncture" (409 times), "Management" (291 times), and "Pain" (277 times). Burst keywords were "guidelines," "sleep," and "diagnosis" (2021-2022). Conclusion: This study conducted a multidimensional analysis of the current state of acupuncture RCT research, revealing key research domains, hotspots, and potential trends. Building on these findings, we propose the following directions for future investigations: (1) identifying potential conditions for acupuncture through four classification approaches: conditions with conflicting research findings, conditions for which a body of evidence is emerging but has not yet reached a broad consensus, conditions for which modern medicine currently has no superior treatment options, and conditions where acupuncture can further expand its application; (2) key factors influencing acupuncture efficacy, such as acupoint prescription, core acupuncture parameters and the dose-effect relationship should be explored; (3) research quality and reliability should be ensured by adhering to rigorous methodological design and reporting standards, including appropriate selection of control groups and outcome measures.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.