ArticleBMC complementary and alternative medicine2017
Assessing the quality of reports about randomized controlled trials of scalp acupuncture combined with another treatment for stroke.
Article in BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Comparative efficacy of Chinese herbal injections for treating acute cerebral infarction: a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2018Pooled it
- Protocol of the development of a core outcome set for stroke in multidimensional value assessment of traditional Chinese medicine.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Reporting and data-sharing level of acupuncture randomised controlled trials: a cross-sectional study protocol.BMJ open · 2023Article
- Assessment of Completeness of Reporting in Randomized Controlled Trials of Acupuncture Therapy for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.International journal of general medicine · 2022Review
- Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on Randomized Controlled Trials on Efficacy and Safety of Panax Notoginseng Saponins in Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2021Review
- Efficacy of cattle encephalon glycoside and ignotin in patients with acute cerebral infarction: a randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled study.Neural regeneration research · 2020Article
- Article
- The Effectiveness of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Frozen Shoulder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2020Article
- Do acupuncture trials have lower risk of bias over the last five decades? A methodological study of 4 715 randomized controlled trials.PloS one · 2020Article
- Protocol of the Development of a Core Outcome Set for Ischemic Stroke in Clinical Trials of Chinese Medicine.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2020Article
- Modulatory effect of International Standard Scalp Acupuncture on brain activation in the elderly as revealed by resting-state fMRI.Neural regeneration research · 2019Article
- Assessing the reporting quality in randomized controlled trials of acupuncture for postherpetic neuralgia using the CONSORT statement and STRICTA guidelines.Journal of pain research · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThis study was designed to assess the quality of reporting on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of scalp acupuncture for the treatment of stroke.
methodsThe following 8 databases were systematically investigated from their inception to December 2015: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, National Institute of Informatics Scholarly and Academic Information Navigator, National Digital Science Library, Korean Traditional Knowledge Portal, and Korean Studies Information Service System. RCTs utilizing scalp acupuncture as an intervention for stroke were selected, and the quality of reports was assessed based on the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials 2010 statement (CONSORT) and Standards for Reporting Interventions in Controlled Trials of Acupuncture 2010 (STRICTA). For each study, the overall quality score (OQS) of 13 CONSORT items, a combined key methodological index score (MIS) of 5 CONSORT items, and the OQS of 17 STRICTA items were measured.
resultsThe original reports of 63 RCTs were ultimately obtained, and the median CONSORT OQS was 7 (minimum 2, maximum 11). Particularly, the items 'trial design', 'sample size', 'ancillary analyses', and 'harms' had a positive rate of less than 10%. The median MIS was 1 (minimum 0, maximum 5), with 'allocation concealment and implementation' and 'intent-to-treat analysis (ITT) analysis' having a positive rate of less than 10%. The median STRICTA OQS was 11 (minimum 6, maximum 14), and only the items 'sample size' and 'intent-to-treat analysis' were reported, with a positive rate of less than 10%. The mean CONSORT OQS increased by approximately 0.81 for each 5-year period in which manuscripts were published (95% confidence interval: 0.43 to 1.19; p < 0.001). No variable was significantly associated with MIS in the ordinal regression model.
conclusionThe quality of reports on RCTs investigating scalp acupuncture treatment for stroke was moderate to low. Furthermore, reporting of some items was either insufficient or inadequate in the majority of studies. In order to improve and standardize the quality of RCTs investigating scalp acupuncture for stroke, CONSORT and STRICTA guidelines should be utilized more frequently.
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