1.Exploring on Quality Evaluation Methods of Clinical Case Reports in Traditional Chinese Medicine Based on China Clinical Cases Library of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Kaige ZHANG ; Feng ZHANG ; Bo ZHOU ; Haimin CHEN ; Yong ZHU ; Changcheng HOU ; Liangzhen YOU ; Weijun HUANG ; Jie YANG ; Guoshuang ZHU ; Shukun GONG ; Jianwen HE ; Yang YE ; Yuqiu AN ; Chunquan SUN ; Qingjie YUAN ; Buman LI ; Xingzhong FENG ; Kegang CAO ; Hongcai SHANG ; Jihua GUO ; Xiaoxiao ZHANG ; Zhining TIAN
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2026;32(1):271-276
As the core vehicle for preserving and transmitting traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) academic thought and clinical experience, the establishment of a robust quality evaluation system for TCM clinical case reports is a crucial component in the current standardization and modernization of TCM. Based on the practical experience of constructing the China Clinical Cases Library of Traditional Chinese Medicine by the China Association of Chinese Medicine, this study conducted a comprehensive analysis of critical challenges, including insufficient authenticity and unfocused evaluation criteria. It proposed a three-dimensional evaluation framework grounded in the structure-process-outcome logic, encompassing three dimensions of authenticity and standardization, characteristics and advantages, application and translational impact. This framework integrated 12 key evaluation indicators in a systematic manner. The model preserved the academic characteristics of TCM syndrome differentiation and treatment, while aligning with modern scientific research standards, achieving a balance between individualized TCM experience and standardized evaluation. Concurrently, this study provided theoretical foundations and methodological guidance for evaluating the quality of TCM clinical cases, contributing significantly to the inheritance of TCM knowledge, evidence-based practice, and the reform of talent evaluation mechanisms.
2.Discussion on the Treatment of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome from the Theory of "Qi Loses Its Regulatory Function,Fluids and Blood Follow the Same Path"
Hui WENG ; Bo CHEN ; Tengfei CHEN ; Chengjian YE ; Wenhe ZHENG
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2026;67(7):792-797
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is believed to primarily result from a disorder of the qi movement, with qi dysfunction occurring first, followed by changes in fluids and blood. The disease is located in the lungs, with its root in qi and pathological changes in fluids and blood, aligning with the theory of "qi loses its regulatory function, fluids and blood follow the same path". Accordingly, ARDS is divided into three stages, the early stage with qi congestion, counterflow, fluids and blood obstruction, severe stage with qi collapse, yang depletion, fluids and blood out of control), and recovery stage with qi consumption and fluids damage, residual pathogen retention. For the corresponding treatments, in the early stage, the focus is on diffusing the lung qi, opening the block, dissol-ving phlegm, and eliminating fluid retention, using Tingli Dazao Xiefei Decoction (葶苈大枣泻肺汤) and Xuanbai Chengqi Decoction (宣白承气汤) / Shegan Mahuang Decoction (射干麻黄汤) with modifications. In the severe stage, the priority is to reinforce qi, stabilize collapse, and promote diuresis and blood circulation, with modified Zhenwu Decoction (真武汤) and Shenge Powder (参蛤散). During recovery stage, the emphasis shifts to replenishing qi and body fluids while clearing residual pathogens, with Shashen Maidong Decoction (沙参麦冬汤) and Bufei Decoction (补肺汤). At the same time, from the perspective of "qi loses its regulatory function, fluids and blood follow the same path", the mechanism of prone position ventilation (PPV) is explored. It is believed that the effect of "qi reaching the blood" via PPV by restoring the qi movement and unblocking qi, blood and water retention, which offers insights for the diagnosis and treatment of ARDS with integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine.
3.Establishment and validation of a model for femoral head necrosis after internal fixation of femoral neck fracture using logistic regression and SHAP analysis
Long LIAO ; Zepeng ZHAO ; Zongyuan LI ; Qinglong YU ; Tao ZHANG ; Jinyuan TANG ; Nan YE ; Han XU ; Bo SHI
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research 2026;30(3):626-633
BACKGROUND:The most common complication of traumatic femoral neck fractures after internal fixation is femoral head necrosis.Currently,many studies have reported on the risk factors that affect the occurrence and development of postoperative femoral head necrosis,but there is still a lack of tools to predict the risk of femoral head necrosis after internal fixation of femoral neck fractures.OBJECTIVE:To develop a predictive model that estimates the risk of femoral head necrosis shortly after patients with femoral neck fractures receive cannulated screw internal fixation.METHODS:A retrospective analysis reviewed clinical records of 172 patients who underwent cannulated screw internal fixation for femoral neck fractures at Department of Orthopedics of Mianyang Central Hospital from January 2013 to June 2023.Patients were categorized into two groups based on the presence or absence of femoral head necrosis within one year post-operation:the necrosis group and the non-necrosis group.Univariate analysis,Lasso regression,and multivariate Logistic regression techniques were employed to identify the determinants of femoral head necrosis.A nomogram prediction model was constructed using R language's"rms"package,version 4.0.The receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the discriminatory ability of the model.The Hosmer-Lemeshow test was used to evaluate the goodness of fit of the model,and the decision curve analysis was used to determine its clinical application benefits.Internal validation of the study was conducted using the Bootstrap method,involving 1 000 repeated samplings.To delve deeper into the primary factors influencing femoral head necrosis post-internal fixation of the femoral neck,this paper employed the SHAP method for data set analysis.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The risk factors leading to femoral head necrosis in the short term after cannulated screw fixation of femoral neck fractures include:smoking,diabetes,Garden classification,fracture line location,reduction quality,age,and operation time.(2)The prediction model demonstrated robust performance,evidenced by an area under the curve of 0.940(95%Confidence Interval:0.903 to 0.977),indicating a high level of prediction accuracy.The model achieved a sensitivity of 90.2%and a specificity of 87.6%,indicating that its diagnostic performance was stable.The Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test yielded a chi-square value of 6.593 with a P-value of 0.581,confirming that the model's predictions closely align with the observed outcomes.(3)The calibration curve of the model also performed well,and its overall trend was very close to the ideal curve,further proving the high accuracy of the model.(4)The internal validation was carried out by the Bootstrap method with 1 000 repeated samplings,and the area under the curve of the model internal validation was still as high as 0.939,proving that the model had good stability.(5)Through the decision curve,it is found that within the probability threshold range of 1%to 92%,the model can obtain the maximum net benefit value.(6)The SHAP analysis results show that among the risk factors analyzed in this study,the location of the fracture line serves as the most significant predictor of femoral head necrosis following internal fixation with cannulated screws in femoral neck fractures,and subcapital fractures are extremely prone to femoral head necrosis after surgery.(7)It is concluded that the validated prediction model demonstrates strong discriminative power and reliability,offering practical clinical utility.It serves as a useful reference tool for short-term risk assessment of femoral head necrosis following internal fixation of femoral neck fractures.
4.Establishment and validation of a model for femoral head necrosis after internal fixation of femoral neck fracture using logistic regression and SHAP analysis
Long LIAO ; Zepeng ZHAO ; Zongyuan LI ; Qinglong YU ; Tao ZHANG ; Jinyuan TANG ; Nan YE ; Han XU ; Bo SHI
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research 2026;30(3):626-633
BACKGROUND:The most common complication of traumatic femoral neck fractures after internal fixation is femoral head necrosis.Currently,many studies have reported on the risk factors that affect the occurrence and development of postoperative femoral head necrosis,but there is still a lack of tools to predict the risk of femoral head necrosis after internal fixation of femoral neck fractures.OBJECTIVE:To develop a predictive model that estimates the risk of femoral head necrosis shortly after patients with femoral neck fractures receive cannulated screw internal fixation.METHODS:A retrospective analysis reviewed clinical records of 172 patients who underwent cannulated screw internal fixation for femoral neck fractures at Department of Orthopedics of Mianyang Central Hospital from January 2013 to June 2023.Patients were categorized into two groups based on the presence or absence of femoral head necrosis within one year post-operation:the necrosis group and the non-necrosis group.Univariate analysis,Lasso regression,and multivariate Logistic regression techniques were employed to identify the determinants of femoral head necrosis.A nomogram prediction model was constructed using R language's"rms"package,version 4.0.The receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the discriminatory ability of the model.The Hosmer-Lemeshow test was used to evaluate the goodness of fit of the model,and the decision curve analysis was used to determine its clinical application benefits.Internal validation of the study was conducted using the Bootstrap method,involving 1 000 repeated samplings.To delve deeper into the primary factors influencing femoral head necrosis post-internal fixation of the femoral neck,this paper employed the SHAP method for data set analysis.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The risk factors leading to femoral head necrosis in the short term after cannulated screw fixation of femoral neck fractures include:smoking,diabetes,Garden classification,fracture line location,reduction quality,age,and operation time.(2)The prediction model demonstrated robust performance,evidenced by an area under the curve of 0.940(95%Confidence Interval:0.903 to 0.977),indicating a high level of prediction accuracy.The model achieved a sensitivity of 90.2%and a specificity of 87.6%,indicating that its diagnostic performance was stable.The Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test yielded a chi-square value of 6.593 with a P-value of 0.581,confirming that the model's predictions closely align with the observed outcomes.(3)The calibration curve of the model also performed well,and its overall trend was very close to the ideal curve,further proving the high accuracy of the model.(4)The internal validation was carried out by the Bootstrap method with 1 000 repeated samplings,and the area under the curve of the model internal validation was still as high as 0.939,proving that the model had good stability.(5)Through the decision curve,it is found that within the probability threshold range of 1%to 92%,the model can obtain the maximum net benefit value.(6)The SHAP analysis results show that among the risk factors analyzed in this study,the location of the fracture line serves as the most significant predictor of femoral head necrosis following internal fixation with cannulated screws in femoral neck fractures,and subcapital fractures are extremely prone to femoral head necrosis after surgery.(7)It is concluded that the validated prediction model demonstrates strong discriminative power and reliability,offering practical clinical utility.It serves as a useful reference tool for short-term risk assessment of femoral head necrosis following internal fixation of femoral neck fractures.
5.Identification of immune cell-related biomarkers in lung adenocarcinoma using weighted gene co-expression network analysis
Dongyuan HE ; Bo CHEN ; Jingyao LIANG ; Haibo YE ; Xiaoxing YI ; Guangni LIANG
Chinese Journal of Clinical Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2026;33(05):751-758
Objective To identify immune cell-related biomarkers in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Methods Based on data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, a gene co-expression network was constructed for the TCGA-LUAD dataset using the "WGCNA" R package, and genes were clustered into different modules. Concurrently, the Estimation of STromal and Immune cells in MAlignant Tumours using Expression data (ESTIMATE) algorithm was applied to the tumor samples in the TCGA-LUAD dataset. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed to evaluate the biological functions of genes within the most significantly correlated module. Candidate hub genes from the key module were intersected with a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network to identify the final hub genes. The prognostic performance of these hub genes and their correlation with immune cell infiltration were validated using Kaplan-Meier curves and the Tumor IMmune Estimation Resource (TIMER) algorithm. Finally, a multivariate Cox regression analysis was conducted on the identified hub genes to construct a prognostic risk model. Results In the co-expression network, the brown module was found to be highly correlated with the ImmuneScore, StromalScore, and ESTIMATE Score. Five immune-related hub genes were identified: CD53, PLEK, SPI1, IL10RA, and C3AR1. Enrichment analysis of the brown module revealed that its genes were primarily enriched in GO terms such as "regulation of innate immune response" and KEGG pathways like the "NF-kappa B signaling pathway". Furthermore, the expression levels of these five hub genes were significantly and positively correlated with the infiltration abundance of various immune cells. The immune relevance of the model was validated by the Immunophenoscore (IPS) and the Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion (TIDE) score. Moreover, the established RiskScore demonstrated significant potential in predicting the response to immunotherapy. Conclusion These five immune-related key genes may serve as novel and effective potential therapeutic targets for LUAD immunotherapy, facilitating the development of personalized diagnosis and treatment strategies for patients with LUAD.
6.Key Information Research on Famous Classical Formula Shegan Mahuangtang
Cheng LUO ; Yuanhang YE ; Bo NING ; Fei WANG
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(6):180-188
Shegan Mahuangtang was a famous classical formula for treating asthma and is included in the the Catalogue of Ancient Famous Classical Formulas(The Second Batch). By means of bibliometrics, this study conducts a textual research and analysis on the key information of its formula origin, composition, drug origins, processing, dosage, decocting methods, efficacy, and clinical application. According to research, Shegan Mahuangtang was first recorded in Synopsis of the Golden Chamber and is the ancestral formula for treating cold asthma, which has been used to this day. Suggestions for the drug origins in Shegan Mahuangtang is as follows:Shegan is selected from the dried rhizomes of Belamcanda chinensis(Iridaceae), Mahuang is selected from the dried herbaceous stems of Ephedra sinica(Ephedraceae), Shengjiang is selected from the fresh rhizomes of Zingiber officinale(Zingiberaceae), Xixin is selected from the dried roots and rhizomes of Asarum heterotropoides var. mandshuricum, A. sieboldii var. seoulense or A. sieboldii(Aristolochiaceae), Ziwan is selected from the dried roots and rhizomes of Aster tataricus(Compositae), Kuandonghua is selected from the dried flower buds of Tussilago farfara(Compositae), Nanwuweizi is selected from the dried mature fruits of Schisandra sphenanthera(Magnoliaceae), Dazao is selected from the dried mature fruit of Ziziphus jujuba(Rhamnaceae), and Banxia, a plant of the Araceae family, is selected as the processed products of dried tubers from Pinellia ternata. The recommended dosage is 41.4 g of Shegan, Xixin, Ziwan and Kuandonghua, 55.2 g of Mahuang and Shengjiang, 37.5 g of Nanwuweizi, 21 g of Dazao, 34.5 g of Banxia. The decoction method is to boil Mahuang first in 2.4 L of water, remove the froth on the top, and add the rest of the herbs and decoct them together, and then boil them to 600 mL, and then take it at warm temperature, 200 mL each time, 3 times a day. In terms of clinical application, Shegan Mahuangtang is most commonly used for respiratory system diseases, especially in the treatment of adult or pediatric bronchial asthma and cough variant asthma. Phlegm sound in the throat is the core symptom of Shegan Mahuangtang in clinical practice, and the core pathogenesis is "cold fluid stagnated in the lungs". By excavating and sorting out the ancient and modern literature of Shegan Mahuangtang, key information is confirmed, which can provide literature reference for the modern clinical application and new drug development of this famous classical formula.
7.Chinese Medicine Regulates Ferroptosis to Treat Lung Cancer: A Review
Cheng LUO ; Yuanhang YE ; Bo NING ; Jia KE
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(2):268-278
This article provides a systematic review of the research progress in the mechanisms related to lung cancer and ferroptosis, ferroptosis-related lung cancer biomarkers and gene mutation targets, and ferroptosis-targeted regulation of Chinese medicine in treating lung cancer in the past five years, providing a feasible and effective basis for the prevention and treatment of lung cancer with Chinese medicine and the development of new drugs. According to the available studies, ferroptosis is widely suppressed in lung cancer, while the specific regulatory mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. The suppression is related to lipid metabolism, iron metabolism, cystine/glutamate antiporter system Xc- (System Xc-)/glutathione (GSH)/glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), ferroptosis suppressor protein 1 (FSP1)/coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)/nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate [NAD(P)H], long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), and p53. In modern times, traditional Chinese medicine is widely used in the comprehensive treatment of lung cancer, and it has gradually become a hot research topic due to its obvious advantages of anti-tumor activity, high efficacy, and low toxicity. Traditional Chinese medicine plays an important role in the treatment of lung cancer. Studies have shown that the active components, extracts, and prescriptions of Chinese medicine can induce ferroptosis in lung cancer cells through targeted regulation of iron metabolism, lipid metabolism, and p53, Nrf2, LncRNA, and GPX4 pathways to inhibit the growth and proliferation of lung cancer, thus exerting anti-tumor effects. Therefore, regulating ferroptosis is expected to become a new direction for preventing lung cancer. Basic research has shown that Chinese medicine can regulate ferroptosis via multiple targets and pathways in the treatment of lung cancer. At present, Chinese medicine demonstrates great research prospects in regulating ferroptosis to treat lung cancer, which, howeve, still faces challenges to achieve clinical transformation.
8.A practical guide for enteral nutrition from the Korean Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition: Part I. prescribing enteral nutrition orders
Ye Rim CHANG ; Bo-Eun KIM ; In Seok LEE ; Youn Soo CHO ; Sung-Sik HAN ; Eunjung KIM ; Hyunjung KIM ; Jae Hak KIM ; Jeong Wook KIM ; Sung Shin KIM ; Eunhee KONG ; Ja Kyung MIN ; Chi-Min PARK ; Jeongyun PARK ; Seungwan RYU ; Kyung Won SEO ; Jung Mi SONG ; Minji SEOK ; Eun-Mi SEOL ; Jinhee YOON ; Jeong Meen SEO ;
Annals of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism 2025;17(1):3-8
Purpose:
This study aimed to develop a comprehensive practical guide for enteral nutrition (EN) designed to enhance patient safety and reduce complications in Korea. Under the leadership of the Korean Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (KSPEN), the initiative sought to standardize EN procedures, improve decision-making, and promote effective multidisciplinary communication.
Methods:
The KSPEN EN committee identified key questions related to EN practices and organized them into seven sections such as prescribing, delivery route selection, formula preparation, administration, and quality management. Twenty-one experts, selected based on their expertise, conducted a thorough literature review to formulate evidence-based recommendations. Drafts underwent peer review both within and across disciplines, with final revisions completed by the KSPEN Guideline Committee. The guide, which will be published in three installments, addresses critical elements of EN therapy and safety protocols.
Results:
The practical guide recommends that EN orders include detailed elements and advocates the use of electronic medical records for communication. Standardized prescription forms and supplementary safety measures are outlined. Review frequency is adjusted according to patient condition—daily for critically ill or unstable patients and as dictated by institutional protocols for stable patients. Evidence indicates that adherence to these protocols reduces mortality, complications, and prescription errors.
Conclusion
The KSPEN practical guide offers a robust framework for the safe delivery of EN tailored to Korea’s healthcare context. It emphasizes standardized protocols and interdisciplinary collaboration to improve nutritional outcomes, patient safety, and operational efficiency. Rigorous implementation and monitoring of adherence are critical for its success.
9.Integrated molecular characterization of sarcomatoid hepatocellular carcinoma
Rong-Qi SUN ; Yu-Hang YE ; Ye XU ; Bo WANG ; Si-Yuan PAN ; Ning LI ; Long CHEN ; Jing-Yue PAN ; Zhi-Qiang HU ; Jia FAN ; Zheng-Jun ZHOU ; Jian ZHOU ; Cheng-Li SONG ; Shao-Lai ZHOU
Clinical and Molecular Hepatology 2025;31(2):426-444
Background:
s/Aims: Sarcomatoid hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a rare histological subtype of HCC characterized by extremely poor prognosis; however, its molecular characterization has not been elucidated.
Methods:
In this study, we conducted an integrated multiomics study of whole-exome sequencing, RNA-seq, spatial transcriptome, and immunohistochemical analyses of 28 paired sarcomatoid tumor components and conventional HCC components from 10 patients with sarcomatoid HCC, in order to identify frequently altered genes, infer the tumor subclonal architectures, track the genomic evolution, and delineate the transcriptional characteristics of sarcomatoid HCCs.
Results:
Our results showed that the sarcomatoid HCCs had poor prognosis. The sarcomatoid tumor components and the conventional HCC components were derived from common ancestors, mostly accessing similar mutational processes. Clonal phylogenies demonstrated branched tumor evolution during sarcomatoid HCC development and progression. TP53 mutation commonly occurred at tumor initiation, whereas ARID2 mutation often occurred later. Transcriptome analyses revealed the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and hypoxic phenotype in sarcomatoid tumor components, which were confirmed by immunohistochemical staining. Moreover, we identified ARID2 mutations in 70% (7/10) of patients with sarcomatoid HCC but only 1–5% of patients with non-sarcomatoid HCC. Biofunctional investigations revealed that inactivating mutation of ARID2 contributes to HCC growth and metastasis and induces EMT in a hypoxic microenvironment.
Conclusions
We offer a comprehensive description of the molecular basis for sarcomatoid HCC, and identify genomic alteration (ARID2 mutation) together with the tumor microenvironment (hypoxic microenvironment), that may contribute to the formation of the sarcomatoid tumor component through EMT, leading to sarcomatoid HCC development and progression.
10.Specific effect of inserted sham acupuncture and its impact on the estimation of acupuncture treatment effect in randomized controlled trials: A systematic survey.
Xiao-Chao LUO ; Jia-Li LIU ; Ming-Hong YAO ; Ye-Meng CHEN ; Arthur Yin FAN ; Fan-Rong LIANG ; Ji-Ping ZHAO ; Ling ZHAO ; Xu ZHOU ; Xiao-Ying ZHONG ; Jia-Hui YANG ; Bo LI ; Ying ZHANG ; Xin SUN ; Ling LI
Journal of Integrative Medicine 2025;23(6):630-640
BACKGROUND:
The use of inserted sham acupuncture as a placebo in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is controversial, because it may produce specific effects that cause an underestimation of the effect of acupuncture treatment.
OBJECTIVE:
This systematic survey investigates the magnitude of insert-specific effects of sham acupuncture and whether they affect the estimation of acupuncture treatment effects.
SEARCH STRATEGY:
PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched to identify acupuncture RCTs from their inception until December 2022.
INCLUSION CRITERIA:
RCTs that evaluated the effects of acupuncture compared to sham acupuncture and no treatment.
DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS:
The total effect measured for an acupuncture treatment group in RCTs were divided into three components, including the natural history and/or regression to the mean effect (controlled for no-treatment group), the placebo effect, and the specific effect of acupuncture. The first two constituted the contextual effect of acupuncture, which is mimicked by a sham acupuncture treatment group. The proportion of acupuncture total effect size was considered to be 1. The proportion of natural history and/or regression to the mean effect (PNE) and proportional contextual effect (PCE) of included RCTs were pooled using meta-analyses with a random-effect model. The proportion of acupuncture placebo effect was the difference between PCE and PNE in RCTs with non-inserted sham acupuncture. The proportion of insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture (PIES) was obtained by subtracting the proportion of acupuncture placebo effect and PNE from PCE in RCTs with inserted sham acupuncture. The impact of PIES on the estimation of acupuncture's treatment effect was evaluated by quantifying the percentage of RCTs that the effect of outcome changed from no statistical difference to statistical difference after removing PIES in the included studies, and the impact of PIES was externally validated in other acupuncture RCTs with an inserted sham acupuncture group that were not used to calculate PIES.
RESULTS:
This analysis included 32 studies with 5492 patients. The overall PNE was 0.335 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.255-0.415) and the PCE of acupuncture was 0.639 (95% CI, 0.567-0.710) of acupuncture's total effect. The proportional contribution of the placebo effect to acupuncture's total effect was 0.191, and the PIES was 0.189. When we modeled the exclusion of the insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture, the acupuncture treatment effect changed from no difference to a significant difference in 45.45% of the included RCTs, and in 40.91% of the external validated RCTs.
CONCLUSION
The insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture in RCTs represents 18.90% of acupuncture's total effect and significantly affects the evaluation of the acupuncture treatment effect. More than 40% of RCTs that used inserted sham acupuncture would draw different conclusions if the PIES had been controlled for. Considering the impact of the insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture, caution should be taken when using inserted sham acupuncture placebos in RCTs. Please cite this article as: Luo XC, Liu JL, Yao MH, Chen YM, Fan AY, Liang FR, Zhao JP, Zhao L, Zhou X, Zhong XY, Yang JH, Li B, Zhang Y, Sun X, Li L. Specific effect of inserted sham acupuncture and its impact on the estimation of acupuncture treatment effect in randomized controlled trials: A systematic survey. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(6):630-640.
Acupuncture Therapy/methods*
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Humans
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Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
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Placebo Effect
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Placebos
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Treatment Outcome

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