Table 4.

Trial-level acupuncture characteristics, N=39. Counts for point prescription sum to 40 because one trial had two acupuncture groups, with each group receiving acupuncture based on a different point prescription.

Style of Acupuncture
Combination of traditional Chinese and Western	9 (23%)
Traditional Chinese techniques	23 (59%)
Western	7 (18%)
Point Prescription
Fixed needle formula	9 (23%)
Flexible formula	18 (45%)
Individualized	13 (33%)
Location of needles
Both Local and Distal Points	37 (95%)
Distal Points Only	2 (5.1%)
Electrical stimulation allowed	11 (28%)
Manual stimulation allowed	36 (92%)
Moxibustion allowed	6 (15%)
Other Adjunctive Therapies Allowed	8 (21%)
De Qi attempted (N=35)	33 (94%)
Acupuncture-specific patient practitioner interactions	16 (40%)
Minimum years of experience required
No requirement specified (0 years)	14 (36%)
6 months to 2 years	7 (18%)
3–4 years	13 (33%)
5–9 years	3 (7.7%)
10 years	2 (5.1%)
Maximum number of sessions
1–5	3 (7.7%)
6–10	19 (49%)
11–15	12 (31%)
16–20	1 (2.6%)
21–25	2 (5.1%)
26–30	2 (5.1%)
Frequency of sessions (mean number of sessions per week)
0.88	1 (2.6%)
1	19 (49%)
1.43	1 (2.6%)
1.5	7 (18%)
1.67	1 (2.6%)
2	9 (23%)
5	1 (2.6%)
Mean duration of sessions, rounded to whole numbers (N=34)
15–19 minutes	1 (2.9%)
20–24 minutes	11 (32%)
25–29 minutes	6 (18%)
30+ minutes	16 (47%)
Mean number of needles used (N=33)
1–4	3 (9.1%)
5–9	11 (33%)
10–14	12 (36%)
15–20	7 (21%)