Xia 2016a.

Methods	Randomisation by random numbered tables Outcomes blinded
Participants	1 centre in China 124 participants, timing post stroke unclear but suggests acute based on mean days from onset of stroke Dysphagia identified by videofluoroscopy and Dysphagia Outcome Severity Scale No significant differences in baseline characteristics between groups
Interventions	Rx: combined acupuncture with standard swallowing training (n = 62) C: standard swallowing training only (n = 62) Treatment for 4 weeks
Outcomes	Primary: Standardized Swallowing Assessment, Dysphagia Outcome Severity Scale Secondary: Modified BI, Swallowing Quality of Life (SWAL‐QOL)
Notes	Exclusion: presence of serious diseases of the liver, kidney, hematological system, or endocrine system; psychiatric disorders; severe cognitive impairment; severe aphasia; other diseases that potentially impaired swallowing function, such as head and neck tumours, oesophageal neoplasms, craniocerebral injury, myasthenia gravis, and Guillain‐Barre syndrome
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Low risk	Randomisation by random numbers table
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Unclear
Blinding (performance bias and detection bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	Blinding unclear
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	Unclear
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	Low risk	Outcome assessors blinded
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Low risk	4 participant dropouts from study in total
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Low risk	All outcomes reported
Other bias	Low risk	None identified