Table 2.
General characteristics of Cochrane reviews related to acupuncture
| Included Cochrane reviews N=25 | |
|---|---|
| Number of Cochrane reviews, N (%) | |
| Acupuncture as primary | 17 |
| Acupuncture as secondary | 8 |
| Number of component study | |
| Total | 409 |
| Mean | 16.36 (11.77) |
| Median (Q1–Q3) | 13 (3–47) |
| Number of component study published after 2005 | |
| Total | 92 |
| Mean | 3.7 (3.85) |
| Median (Q1–Q3) | 2 (1–5) |
| Publication language of component studies after 2005, N (%) | |
| Total | 92 |
| English | 58 (63) |
| Languages other than English | 34 (37) |
| Number of component studies published in | |
| Acupuncture-related journal | 47 |
| Western medicine journal | 43 |
| Publication year | |
| Cochrane review (Q1–Q3) | 2010 (2008–2011) |
| Component studies (Q1–Q3) | 2007 (2006–2008) |
| Types of control*, N (%) | |
| Sham acupuncture | 34 (37) |
| Active acupuncture | 14 (15) |
| Non-acupuncture | 68 (74) |
| Clinical heterogeneity related to acupuncture | |
| Investigated | 12 (48%) |
| in subgroup analysis | 5 (20%) |
| in sensitivity analysis | 6 (24%) |
| in other analysis | 8 (32%) |
| Not investigated | 13 (52%) |
*Sum of the number of each control group may exceed the total number of included trials, since there are trials that have more than two control groups.
Q1–Q3: IQR 1–3.