Approach to Assess Adequacy of Acupuncture in Randomized Controlled Trials: A Systematic Review.
Chin J Integr Med
; 29(8): 730-737, 2023 Aug.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36790553
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To summarize and identify the available instruments/methods assessing the adequacy of acupuncture in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for proposing a new improved instrument.METHODS:
A systematic literature search was carried out in 7 electronic databases from inception until 21st November 2022. Any study evaluating the adequacy or quality of acupuncture, specifying specific acupuncture treatment-related factors as criteria of subgroup analysis, or developing an instrument/tool to assess the adequacy or quality of acupuncture in an RCT was included. Basic information, characteristics and contents of acupuncture adequacy assessment were presented as frequencies and percentages.RESULTS:
Forty studies were included in this systematic review. Thirty-five studies (87.50%) were systematic reviews, none of which used formal methods to develop the assessment instruments/methods of acupuncture adequacy; of 5 methodological studies, only 1 study used a relatively formal method. Thirty-two studies (82.05%) assessed the components of acupuncture, while 7 (17.95%) assessed the overall quality of acupuncture. An independent assessment instrument/method was used to assess acupuncture adequacy in 29 studies (74.35%), whereas as one part of a methodological quality assessment scale in 10 (25.65%). Only 9 (23.00%) studies used the assessment results for subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis or the criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis.CONCLUSION:
Assessment contents for adequacy or quality of acupuncture in RCTs hadn't still reached consensus and no widely used assessment tools appeared. The methodology of available assessment instruments/scales is far from formal and rigorous. A new instrument/tool assessing adequacy of acupuncture should be developed using a formal method.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Bases de datos:
MEDLINE
Medicinas Tradicionales:
Medicinas_tradicionales_de_asia
/
Medicina_china
Métodos Terapéuticos y Terapias MTCI:
Terapias_manuales
Asunto principal:
Terapia por Acupuntura
Tipo de estudio:
Clinical_trials
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Systematic_reviews
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Chin J Integr Med
Año:
2023
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
China