Ref (type)	Population	Outcome, Interventions	Results and statistical analysis	Effect size	Favours
Pain
RCT 4-armed trial	43 women In review	Proportion of women with reduction in pain of more than half the admission score after 3 months 10/11 (91%) with weekly acupuncture (30–40 minutes) for 3 weeks of each menstrual cycle 4/11 (36%) with placebo acupuncture 1/10 (10%) with monthly medical visits 2/11 (18%) with no medical treatment	P <0.05 for acupuncture v all other treatments	Effect size not calculated	acupuncture
RCT Crossover design	201 women with primary or secondary dysmenorrhoea aged 18 years or older, number of women with primary dysmenorrhoea not reported	Average pain intensity after 3 months 3.1 with acupuncture 5.4 with waiting list control	Difference –2.3 P <0.001	Effect size not calculated	acupuncture
RCT	48 women with primary dysmenorrhoea, aged 18 to 50 years	Proportion of women with successful pain reduction 3/18 (17%) with laser acupuncture for 3 menstrual cycles (total 8 sessions of 20 minutes each) 6/30 (20%) with placebo laser acupuncture for 3 menstrual cycles (total 8 sessions of 20 minutes each)	OR 1.25 95% CI 0.22 to 8.85		Not significant