Table 1.
Revised STandards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA) items that replace CONSORT 2010 item 5 when reporting an acupuncture trial
| (1) Acupuncture rationale | (1a) Style of acupuncture (eg, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Japanese, Korean, Western medical, Five Element, ear acupuncture, etc) |
| (1b) Reasoning for treatment provided, based on historical context, literature sources and/or consensus methods, with references where appropriate | |
| (1c) Extent to which treatment was varied | |
| (2) Details of needling | (2a) Number of needle insertions per subject per session (mean and range where relevant) |
| (2b) Names (or location if no standard name) of points used (uni-/bilateral) | |
| (2c) Depth of insertion, based on a specified unit of measurement or on a particular tissue level | |
| (2d) Responses sought (eg, de qi or muscle twitch response) | |
| (2e) Needle stimulation (eg, manual or electrical) | |
| (2f) Needle retention time | |
| (2g) Needle type (diameter, length and manufacturer or material) | |
| (3) Treatment regimen | (3a) Number of treatment sessions |
| (3b) Frequency and duration of treatment sessions | |
| (4) Other components of treatment | (4a) Details of other interventions administered to the acupuncture group (eg, moxi bustion, cupping, herbs, exercises, lifestyle advice) |
| (4b) Setting and context of treatment, including instructions to practitioners, and information and explanations to patients | |
| (5) Practitioner background | (5) Description of participating acupuncturists (qualification or professional affiliation, years in acupuncture practice, other relevant experience) |
| (6) Control or comparator interventions | (6a) Rationale for the control or comparator in the context of the research question, with sources that justify the choice(s) |
| (6b) Precise description of the control or comparator. If sham acupuncture or any other type of acupuncture-like control is used, provide details as for items 1–3 above |
This checklist should be read in conjunction with the explanations of the Standards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture items provided in the main text.