Acupuncture vs sham: Dry mouth (xerostomia)
- Population
- Adults with dry mouth due to radiotherapy (head and neck cancer) or Sjogren's Syndrome
- Intervention
- Acupuncture
- Comparison
- sham
- Outcome
- Dry mouth (xerostomia)
Acupuncture showed no clear difference in dry mouth (mouth dryness, different scales) compared with placebo (sham acupuncture) (low certainty).
What each review found
Current versions only| Finding | Effect | Studies | GRADE certainty |
|---|---|---|---|
Acupuncture vs Placebo (sham acupuncture) Dry mouth (mouth dryness, different scales) · Adults with dry mouth due to radiotherapy (head and neck cancer) or Sjogren's Syndrome · End of treatment (4-6 weeks) Acupuncture showed no clear difference in dry mouth (mouth dryness, different scales) compared with placebo (sham acupuncture) (low certainty). Interventions for the management of dry mouth: non‐pharmacological interventions (2013) · Cochrane All outcomes | SMD -0.34 [-0.81, 0.14] | 2 studies · 70 participants | Low |
Acupuncture vs Placebo (sham acupuncture) Dry mouth (mouth dryness, different scales) · Adults with dry mouth due to radiotherapy (head and neck cancer) or Sjogren's Syndrome · End of treatment (4-6 weeks) Acupuncture showed no clear difference in dry mouth (mouth dryness, different scales) compared with placebo (sham acupuncture) (low certainty). Interventions for the management of dry mouth: non‐pharmacological interventions (2013) · Cochrane All outcomesearlier version CD009603.PUB2, superseded | SMD -0.34 [-0.81, 0.14] | 2 studies · 70 participants | Low |
Findings are shown side by side, never pooled across reviews.
The reviews
| Review | Searched up to | Included studies | AMSTAR 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interventions for the management of dry mouth: non‐pharmacological interventions 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes | 2013-04 | Not listed | Not assessed |
Related questions
The same intervention and outcome, asked in another population or against another comparator.
- Acupuncture vs Placebo / no treatment / another active non-systemic treatment (e.g. topical salivary stimulant) · People seeking treatment for symptoms of dry mouth (xerostomia) due to any cause (e.g.… · 0 reviews
How reviews are matched to this question
Reviews word the same question differently. Four decision models (TypeSafe's Jev, Liquid AI's d1-ultra, SubQ Snap and Baseten's Elephant) judged each wording of the population, intervention, comparator and outcome against the others; two wordings count as the same when at least three of them agree and none clearly disagrees, and findings count as this question only when all four elements match. Timing, setting and subgroup never split a question: they are shown on each finding.