Duan 1997.

Methods	RCT, method of randomization not stated C: unclear Blinding: not stated ITT analysis: not stated Losses to FU: none
Participants	Country: China 92 participants (53 men, aged 41 to 72 years) with acute ischemic stroke Treatment: 47; control: 45 100% CT scan before entry Health conditions before stroke: not stated Comparability: MESSS score and sites of infarction similar
Interventions	Treatment group: 2 acupoints (DU20, GB7), manual twirling stimulation, 24 minutes/session, once per day for 30 days Control group: no acupuncture Both groups: routine drug therapy
Outcomes	Change in MESSS score at 30 days Number of participants with improvement (MESSS score decrease > 18%) at 30 days
Notes	FU: 30 days
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Insufficient information to permit judgement
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Insufficient information to permit judgement
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	Insufficient information to permit judgement
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	Insufficient information to permit judgement
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	Insufficient information to permit judgement
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Unclear risk	Insufficient information to permit judgement
Other bias	Unclear risk	Insufficient information to permit judgement