Bibliometric Analysis of the Clinical Literature of Acupoint Thread-embedding for Simple Obesity / 上海针灸杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To analyze the bibliometry of the literature of acupoint thread-embedding in treating simple obesity, and to provide references for clinic.Method By both computer and manual retrieval, the relevant literatures over the past 30 years were collected from the Chinese Journal Full-text Database (CJFD), Vip database, WanFang database. By using the SPSS 17.0 software for statistical analysis, the distribution (province or city), publication year, and journal of the literatures, supporting fund, sample size, research method, material of the thread, use frequency of the involved acupoints, and the meridians of the selected acupoints were summarized.Result The included eligible 175 articles were distributed over many provinces and cities; the publication amount had been increasing year by year; there was a variety of thread materials; the literature with supporting funds only occupied a small percentage, while the research with a small sample size occupied a comparatively large percentage, and the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) also had a small percentage.Conclusion As a common Chinese external therapy in treating simple obesity, acupoint thread-embedding has been paid more and more attention for its practical value and bright future. However, the relevant governmental department hasn’t paid enough attention to this therapy, and the low clinical research quality also makes it difficult to scientifically evaluate its clinical efficacy and safety. Therefore, more attention is required, RCTs of multicenter and large sample size are expected, and clinical research quality also needs improvement, to provide references for clinic.