Table 3.
Reporting compliance to the STRICTA checklist
| Items | n | ％ (n/137) | Cohen’s к | 95% CI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coefficient | |||||
| 1. Acupuncture rationale (explanations and examples) | 1a) Style of acupuncture (eg, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Japanese, Korean, Western medical, Five Element, ear acupuncture). | 134 | 98 | 1 | [0.95–1.00] |
| 1b) Reasoning for provided treatment, based on historical context, literature sources, or consensus methods, with references where appropriate. | 125 | 91 | 0.59 | [0.86–0.96] | |
| 1c) Extent to which treatment varied. | 0 | 0 | 1 | [0.00–0.01] | |
| 2. Details of needling (explanations and examples) | 2a) Number of needle insertions per subject per session (mean and range where relevant). | 51 | 37 | 0.86 | [0.29–0.45] |
| 2b) Names (or location if there was no standard name) of points used (uni/bilateral). | 130 | 95 | 0.7 | [0.91–0.99] | |
| 2c) Depth of insertion, based on a specified unit of measurement, or on a particular tissue level. | 62 | 45 | 0.88 | [0.37–0.54] | |
| 2d) Response sought (eg, de qi or muscle twitch response). | 50 | 36 | 0.79 | [0.28–0.45] | |
| 2e) Needle stimulation (eg, manual, electrical). | 106 | 77 | 0.86 | [0.70–0.84] | |
| 2f) Needle retention time. | 112 | 82 | 1 | [0.75–0.88] | |
| 2g) Needle type (diameter, length, and manufacturer or material). | 62 | 45 | 0.86 | [0.37–0.54] | |
| 3. Treatment regimen (Explanations and examples) | 3a) Number of treatment sessions. | 112 | 82 | 0.82 | [0.75–0.88] |
| 3b) Frequency and duration of treatment sessions | 118 | 86 | 0.76 | [0.80–0.92] | |
| 4. Other components of treatment (explanations and examples) | 4a) Details of other interventions administered to the acupuncture group (eg, moxibustion, cupping, herbs, exercises, lifestyle change). | 102 | 74 | 0.8 | [0.67–0.82] |
| 4b) Setting and context of treatment, including instructions to practitioners, information and explanations to patients. | 7 | 5 | 0.87 | [0.01–0.09] | |
| 5. Practitioner background (explanations and examples) | 5) Description of participating acupuncturists (qualifications or professional affiliations, years in acupuncture practice, other relevant experiences). | 1 | 1 | 1 | [0.01–0.02] |
| 6. Control or comparator interventions (explanations and examples) | 6a) The rationale for the control or comparator in the context of the research question, with sources that justify this choice. | 47 | 34 | 0.73 | [0.26–0.42] |
| 6b) A precise description of the control or comparator. If sham acupuncture or any other type of acupuncture-like control was used, provide details as in items 1–3 above. | 32 | 23 | 0.78 | [0.16–0.31] |