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The Effect of Patient Characteristics on Acupuncture Treatment Outcomes: An Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis of 20,827 Chronic Pain Patients in Randomized Controlled Trials
Patient-level and trial-level meta-regressions across 39 acupuncture RCTs find higher baseline pain severity is the clearest potential moderator of larger absolute benefit from acupuncture versus sham or non-acupuncture controls.
Design
- IPD MA of 39 acupuncture RCTs (25 sham, 25 non-acupuncture controls; overlapping trial sets)
- Covariates tested: age, sex, pain duration, baseline pain severity, baseline psychological distress
Results (abstract)
- Only baseline pain severity emerged as a plausible moderator of acupuncture benefit (greater baseline pain → larger treatment advantage)
- Other covariates not significant moderators in the reported models
Evidence hygiene
- Moderation ≠ treatment matching rule ready for clinic triage—effect sizes remain modest at the individual level.
Publication
Witt CM, Vertosick EA, Foster NE, et al. Clin J Pain. 2019 May;35(5):428-434. PMID 30908336.
Outcomes
- Among five patient-level characteristics, only higher baseline pain severity significantly moderated acupuncture treatment effects (greater absolute benefit vs controls) in IPD meta-regressions across 39 chronic-pain RCTs.