P05.08
Purpose: To systematically identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on acupuncture published in Chinese journals, analyze the rate of positive results, and explore possible factors that may influence the reporting of positive results.
Methods: We searched four main Chinese databases (CNKI, VIP, CBM, Wanfang) from their inception to January 2013 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on acupuncture compared with no treatment, sham-acupuncture or conventional treatment. We bibliometrically described the trials and analyzed the rate of positive results from primary outcomes in relation to trial risk of bias, statistical results and author's conclusions.
Results: A total of 840 RCTs with 71,871 participants were identified, including 727 RCTs comparing acupuncture with conventional treatment, 51 RCTs with no treatment, and 62 RCTs with sham-acupuncture. Among them, 838 trials (99.8%) reported positive results from primary outcomes, while only two trials (0.2%) reported negative results, comparing acupuncture with conventional treatment and sham-acupuncture respectively. Among the 726 RCTs comparing acupuncture with conventional treatment, 641 trials (88.3%) favored acupuncture groups; While 85 trials (11.7%) showed no significant difference between acupuncture and conventional treatment groups, the authors concluded positive results based on the findings. For methodological quality, the percentages of reporting ‘random number generation’, ‘concealment of the allocation sequence’, ‘blinding’, ‘information on withdraws or lost of follow-up’, and ‘Sample Size Calculation’ among the 840 RCTs were 43.7%, 5.9%, 4.9%, 9.9%, and 1.7% respectively. In addition, 99.8% of trials reported names of points used, 74.5% of trials reported manipulation methods to gain response sought such as de qi, and 18.2% of trials reported syndrome differentiation.
Conclusion: Publication bias might be major issue in RCTs on acupuncture published in Chinese journals reported, which is related to high risk of bias. We suggest that all trials should be prospectively registered in international trial registry in future.
Contact: Jianping Liu, jianping_l@hotmail.com
