Hao 2010.

Methods	RCT No estimation of sample size
Participants	112 participants were randomised into intervention group (n = 60, M/F 38/22, mean age 51.6 ± 3.7 years), and control group (n = 52, M/F 30/22, mean age 50.4 ± 7.1 years). Type of DM: not reported  Study location: China Study setting: outpatients Diagnostic criteria: World Health Organization 1999 criteria Inclusion criteria: meeting DM diagnosis criteria; having DPN symptoms; peripheral nerve damage Exclusion criteria: with other diabetic complications; DPN due to other diseases.
Interventions	(1) Intervention: Xuesaitong tablet and mecobalamin. The main components of Xuesaitong capsule were total saponins of panax notoginseng (the exact amount was not reported). Xuesaitong 50 mg, taken 3 times a day and 0.5 mg mecobalamin orally 3 times per day. Treatment lasted for 3 months (2) Control: 0.5 mg mecobalamin orally 3 times per day. Treatment lasted for 3 months Participants in both the intervention group and control group received hypoglycaemic therapy, which included oral hypoglycaemic drug, insulin, exercise
Outcomes	Global symptom improvement Change of motor nerve conduction velocity in tibial nerve (m/s) Change of sensory nerve conduction velocity in tibial nerve (m/s) Change of motor nerve conduction velocity in common peroneal nerve (m/s) Change of sensory nerve conduction velocity in common peroneal nerve (m/s) Adverse events: not reported
Notes	Sources of funding not stated
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Random number table was used to generate the allocation sequence, but insufficient information was provided to judge whether or not it was conducted properly
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	High risk	Not mentioned in the report
Blinding (performance bias and detection bias) All outcomes	High risk	No blinding of participants or investigators
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	High risk	Not mentioned in the report
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Unclear risk	Unclear as the trial protocol was not accessible
Other bias	Low risk	No evidence of other bias