Assessing the Reporting Quality of Randomized Controlled Trials on Acupuncture for Migraine Using the CONSORT and STRICTA Statement

Objective:To evaluate the reporting quality of randomized controlled trials(RCTs) on acupuncture for migraine.Methods:Language was limited to Chinese and English.Ten databases including the cochrane central register of controlled trials,PubMed,OVID,Medline,EBSCO,CBMdisc,EMbase,VIP,CNKI,Wanfang Database were searched systematically.Hand search for journals about acupuncture,all core traditional medicine periodical and further references were conducted.We identified 87 RCTs that only used acupuncture as an intervention and assessed the quality of these reports against the Consolidated Standards for Reporting of Trials(CONSORT) statement and Standards for Reporting Interventions in Controlled Trials of Acupuncture(STRICTA).Results:In regard to the items in the CONSORT statement,53(55.8%) RCTs described baseline demographic and clinical characteristics in each group.34(35.8%) mentioned the method of generating the random sequence,Only 11(11.6%) RCTs had adequate allocation concealment.There are 15(15.8%)RCTs used blinding,including 7 described as double-blind.13(13.7%)RCTs reported the sample size calculation and most of them is smaller.In regard to the items in STRICTA,41(43.2%)mentioned the depths of insertion,49(51.6%)reported acupuncture response,69(72.6%)mentioned the technique of acupuncture,79(83.2%) recorded the time,and only 4(4.2%) RCTs reported the numbers of needles inserted.There are only 4(4.2%) RCTs reported the background of the acupuncture practitioners,but 33 stated professional title of practitioners.Conclusion:The reporting quality of RCTs of acupuncture for migraine was low.The CONSORT statement and STRICTA should be used to standardize the reporting of RCTs of acupuncture.