Cao 2005.

Methods	Randomised, unblinded, active control, 2 parallel groups, two centres. Duration 4 weeks
Participants	Randomised n=120, intervention (n=60; n=30 at x centres), Chinese control n=30, Western control n=30. Completed n=116. Inclusion: OA knee (ACR criteria), at least 5 days on NSAIDs, adverse events with NSAIDs, pain with walking at least 20mm (VAS 0‐100) in the previous 48h
Interventions	Tradename not provided. Chinese herbal mixture (blood‐nourishing, hard‐softening; BNHS), 3150mg Active control (Chinese): Chinese mixture to counter osteophytes, 5250mg, capsules Active control (Western): Viatril‐s 2250mg (crystalline glucosamine sulphate 1884mg equivalent to glucosamine sulphate 1500mg, sodium chloride 384mg) Rescue medication permitted: paracetamol (acetominophen), up to 4000mg daily, PRN; and aspirin, up to 100mg daily in a stable dose
Outcomes	WOMAC‐VAS (normalised scores), pain during walking 0‐100 VAS, patient global 0‐4, physician global 0‐4
Notes	Exploratory study design; power, effect, and sample size not determined a priori. Reported ethics committee approval and compliance with ICH GCP guidelines. Improvements occured in all groups over time. Results indicate that BNHS is not inferior to counter osteophyte Chinese mixture or Viatril‐s.
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Described as randomised, method inadequately reported: "sealed envelope method"
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Low risk	Allocation concealment can be inferred: "sealed envelope method"
Blinding (performance bias and detection bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	Described as blinded, method inadequately reported
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Low risk	Reported withdrawals Included intention‐to‐treat analysis
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Low risk	Reported adverse events (low risk)
Other bias	Low risk	Diagnosis and assessment consistent with ACR criteria