Table 2.

The 12-item appraisal scores for the RCTs

Studies	Randomized adequatelya	Allocation concealed	Patient blinded	Care provider blinded	Outcome assessor blinded	Acceptable drop-out rateb	ITT analysisc	Avoided selective reporting	Similar baseline	Similar or avoided cofactor	Patient compliance	Similar timing	Qualityd
Huang et al	Yes	Yes	Unclear	Unclear	Unclear	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Unclear	Yes	Yes	High
Tang et al	Yes	Yes	Unclear	Unclear	Unclear	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Unclear	Yes	Yes	High
Fan et al	Yes	Yes	Unclear	Unclear	Unclear	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Unclear	Yes	Yes	High
Li et al	No	Unclear	Unclear	Unclear	Unclear	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Unclear	Yes	Yes	Moderate
Gu et al	Yes	Yes	Unclear	Unclear	Unclear	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Unclear	Yes	Yes	High
Ou et al	Unclear	Yes	Unclear	Unclear	Unclear	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Unclear	Yes	Yes	Moderate
Zheng et al	Yes	Yes	Unclear	Unclear	Unclear	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Unclear	Yes	Yes	High

^aOnly if the method of sequence made was explicitly introduced could get a “Yes”

^bDrop-out rate < 20% could get a “Yes,” otherwise “No”

^cITT intention-to-treat, only if all randomized participants were analyzed in the group, they were allocated to could receive a “Yes”

^d“Yes” items more than 7 means “High”; more than 4 but no more than 7 means “Moderate”; no more than 4 means “Low”