SynthesisBMC complementary medicine and therapies2025
Placebo setting in trials of traditional Chinese medicine nursing techniques: a systematic critical review
Synthesis in BMC complementary medicine and therapies, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIn the clinical research field of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) nursing techniques, there are an increasing number of randomized controlled trial (RCTs) involving placebo control settings, but the quality of literature reports remains unclear. This paper aims to assess the reporting quality of placebo-controlled RCTs focusing on TCM nursing techniques.
methodsA comprehensive search was conducted on PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WanFang Database, Chongqing Weipu (VIP), and China Biology Medicine (CBM) from inception to December 3, 2023. The search included RCTs with a placebo control group related to clinical studies on TCM nursing techniques. The Consolidated Standards for Reporting of Trials (CONSORT) and Template for Intervention Description and Replication-Placebo (TIDieR-Placebo) criteria were employed to assess the standardization of literature reporting.
resultsA total of 39 papers were included, covering 15 TCM nursing techniques with a placebo control group designed for the treatment. Common placebo controls included “fake application of real points,“"real application of fake points,” and changes in the medium. The CONSORT evaluation revealed reporting rates of less than 20% for entries 3b, 6b, 11b, 12b, 14b, 16, 17b, and 18. In the TIDieR-Placebo evaluation, the reporting rates of entries 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, and 13 were all below 20%.
conclusionsThe current literature reporting quality of RCTs incorporating placebo control groups in clinical research on TCM nursing techniques is generally suboptimal. Researchers are advised to conscientiously use CONSORT and TIDieR-Placebo guidelines to enhance the reporting standards of research, fostering greater standardization in clinical research on TCM nursing.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.