Objective To assess the quality reports on acupuncture in the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia.
Methods MEDLINE, CBM, CMCC and CNKI from 1994 to 2006 were searched electronically. Handsearching was also done. The retrieved articles were assessed in terms of several factors, including the type of clinical research, methodology, diagnostic criteria, inclusion/exclusion criteria, effectiveness measurements, calculation of sample size, follow-up, etc.
Results Among the 109 included articles, only 6 were true randomized controlled trials. There were 17 quasi-randomized controlled trials, 13 non-randomized concurrent controlled trials, 1 case-control study and 63 narrative studies. 29 of the reports clearly described the diagnostic criteria, 14 mentioned the inclusion/exclusion criteria, 79 reported the effectiveness measurements, none mentioned the calculation of sample size, 24 reported the follow-up outcomes, and only 1 mentioned adverse reactions.
Conclusion More prospective, multicenter, large-scale, high-quality randomised trials are needed, and recommendations should also be made for future evaluations of methodological quality.
Citation： DENG Yanhua,PENG Weina,MAO Mei,MA Xiaojing,LUO Yun,MU Yan,XIAO Xiaoling. Evaluation of the Quality of Reports on Acupuncture for Treating Postherpetic Neuralgia . Chinese Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine, 2007, 07(12): 899-903. doi: Copy