Table 1.
Metadata of main items and variables
| Major data sources | Main items | Property | Main variables and labels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medical Centre | Institutional background | Indispensable | Medical Organizations, Location and hospital attributes, Medical institution level |
| Registration of contribution | Indispensable | Number of recruited practitioners, Number of enrolled patients | |
| Physicians | Demographic Information | Indispensable | Name, Age, Gender, Place of residence, Contact information, Educational background |
| Practitioner background | Indispensable | Medical Organizations, Years of employment, Professional qualification (senior or intermediate professional title) | |
| Patients | Demographic Information | Indispensable | Name, Age, Gender, Nationality, ID number, Residence, Occupation, Marriage status. Educational Qualifications, Contact information |
| CLBP Information | Indispensable | Visit date, Chief complaint, Course of disease, Location of pain, Characteristics of pain, causes of pain aggravation, Medical history, Causes of pain relief, Back function, Concomitant symptoms, History of acupuncture and Reception, auxiliary examination | |
| Diagnosis information | Indispensable | Disease diagnosis, Syndrome differentiation of TCM etiology and meridians, Complicating disease | |
| Lumbar imaging | Optional | X ray, CT examination, Magnetic Resonance Imaging | |
| Informed Consent | Indispensable | NA | |
| Acupuncture treatment process | Acupuncture rationale | Indispensable | Acupuncture date, Acupuncture style, Acupoint selection principle, Operation of acupoints |
| Acupuncture details | Indispensable | Response elicited, Needle retention time, Needle stimulation, Needle type (gauge, length), Adjunctive therapy, Needle parameter, Co-intervention | |
| Acupuncture regimen | Indispensable | Number of treatment session, Frequency of treatment | |
| Combined therapy | Indispensable | Pharmacotherapy, Non-pharmaceutical therapy, Other acupuncture type | |
| Outcomes | Effectiveness evaluation | Indispensable | NRS, ODI, Effective Rate |
| Safety evaluation | Indispensable | Adverse events | |
| Follow up | Indispensable | Disease status (Recurrence, Lower back pain related surgery, Seeking other treatments) |
CT Computed tomography, NA Not applicable, NRS Numeric rating scale, ODI Oswestry disability index, TCM Traditional Chinese Medicine