Gao 2010.

Study characteristics
Methods	Design: parallel Duration: 12 weeks Assessment: baseline and post‐intervention Country: China
Participants	Pain condition: diabetic peripheral neuropathy Population: adults with diabetic peripheral neuropathy Minimum pain intensity: ≥ 4 on 0‐10 VAS Inclusion criteria ≥ 4 on 0‐10 pain intensity VAS Daily pain for ≥ 6 months 3 on the clinical portion of the MNSI Exclusion criteria Unstable glycemic control, any other medical condition that could compromise participation Risk for suicide Total participants randomised: 215 Age in years (mean): 59.3 Gender: 14/215 were female Pain duration in years (mean): 3.2
Interventions	Placebo n = 109 Inert Matched to antidepressant Duloxetine 60 to 120 mg n = 106 SNRI Flexible dosing dependent on efficacy and tolerance
Outcomes	Pain intensity Sleep Mood Quality of life Moderate pain relief Substantial pain relief PGIC AEs SAEs Withdrawal
Missing data methods	ITT with LOCF
Funding source	Pharmaceutical: Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals
Conflicts of interest	Drs Vladimir Skljarevski, Durisala Desaiah, Zhang Shu‐yu, and Zhang Qi are employees and stockholders of Eli Lilly and Company. All other authors from China were the investigators and received funding from Eli Lilly and Company for conducting this study.
Notes
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Randomisation methods not specified
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Allocation procedures not specified
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes	Low risk	Double‐blind with identical placebo and matched dosing schedule
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	Low risk	Self‐reported outcomes from blinded participants
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	High risk	ITT with LOCF Attrition Total: 36/215 (16.7%) Placebo: 17/109 (15.6%) Duloxetine 60‐120 mg: 19/106 (17.9%)
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Low risk	All outcomes registered prospectively on clinicaltrials.gov
Other bias	Low risk	No other sources of bias identified