Carlsson 1990

Methods	Blinding: not blinded Dropout/withdrawals: bias possible (8/31 dropouts in acupuncture, 2/31 in physiotherapy group) Observation period: baseline 3–8 weeks; treatment 2–8 weeks; follow-up 7–12 months Acupuncturists’ assessments: GA completely differently/10% - BB completely different/20%
Participants	Number of patients included/analyzed: 62/52 Condition: chronic tension headache (Ad Hoc) Demographics: mean age 34 years; all female Setting: hospital/outpatient department, Sweden Time since onset of headaches: mean 9 years
Interventions	Acupuncture points: local points: GB 20, GB 21; distal points: LI 4 Information on acupuncturists: n = 2; no further information DeChi achieved?: yes Number of treatment sessions: 4 to 10 sessions of 20 minutes each Frequency of treatment sessions: 1–2/week Control intervention: individualized physiotherapy (10–12 sessions of 30 to 45 minutes each, including relaxation, automassage, TENS, cryotherapy, coping techniques)
Outcomes	Method for outcome measurement: point measurement (no diary) Outcomes: visual analogue scales, Likert scales for intensity and frequency, Sickness Impact Profile, Mood Adjective Check List
Notes	Multiple publication; dropouts different between groups; control group got more therapy than acupuncture group Data for effect size estimation re-calculated from data presented in the publication Pain Clinic 1990
Risk of bias
Item	Authors’ judgement	Description
Adequate sequence generation?	Unclear	No description
Allocation concealment?	Unclear	Information from author: “The randomization was done in blocks of 4. In an envelope there were 4 pieces of paper which were folded two times and signed with A for acupuncture and R for relaxation (two of each). For each patient one piece of paper was drawn ‘blinded’ until all were taken.”
Blinding? All outcomes	No	No blinding
Incomplete outcome data addressed? All outcomes	Unclear	Two patients randomized to acupuncture did not enter treatment phase. A further 6 acupuncture and 2 physiotherapy patients dropped out (reasons not related to efficacy). 23 of 31 randomized to acupuncture and 29 of 31 randomized to physiotherapy patients in analysis. Dropouts seem to have been excluded from all analyses.
Free of selective reporting?	Unclear	No predefined outcome measure, a number of relevant measures presented in figures, others summarized in text; no indication that there was a major selection
Incomplete follow-up outcome data addressed?	Unclear	See above