Joos 2000.

Methods	Design: parallel group Blinding: patients only Drop‐outs/withdrawals: 1 in each group Jadad score: 1‐0‐1 Duration: 4 weeks baseline, 4 weeks treatment and 12 weeks follow‐up.
Participants	N = 38 (27 female, 11 male), age range 16‐65, outpatients, recruited by advertisements, treated at the university department for anesthesiology in Heidelberg. Diagnosis mild to moderately severe allergic asthma (mean FEV1 73% of expected value). 31 patients on beta‐agonists, 20 on inhaled steroids, 11 on theophylline, duration of asthma 1‐20 years
Interventions	Acupuncture group: Semi‐standardized acupuncture (n=19)with 4 basic points bilateral (BL‐13, REN‐17, LI‐4, LU 7) and up to 4 additional flexible points bilateral based on TCM diagnosis. Depth of insertion varied from 0,3 to 30 mm. It was aimed to reach the De qi. Needles were stimulated at each session. Control group: Sham acupuncture (n=17) at 4 non‐specific bilateral (not indicated for asthma) acupuncture points (GB‐8, GB‐34, SJ‐3, SJ‐7) and up to 4 additional flexible bilateral non‐specific acupuncture points. Treatment duration: 12 sessions (each 30 min.) in 4‐5 weeks. Acupuncturist: Acupuncturist quality: 6 medical students trained and supervised by an experienced Chinese acupuncturist. TCM‐Diagnosis done/applied to intervention: (+/+)
Outcomes	Pulmonary function, drug use, subjective assessment, immunologic parameters
Notes	No significant changes in lung function, significant reduction of drug use in both groups (more in correct acupuncture group). Subjective patient assessment of improvement: 15/20 in correct acupuncture group vs. 8/18 control group. Comment: rigorous study, part of 2 theses (one focusing on immunological aspects and one ‐ only available as thesis ‐ focusing on clinical aspects)
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Adequate sequence generation?	Unclear risk	No information available
Allocation concealment?	Low risk	Numbered envelopes
Blinding? All outcomes	High risk	Only participants were unaware as to treatment group assignment
Incomplete outcome data addressed? All outcomes	Low risk	Low attrition rate
Free of other bias?	Unclear risk	Treatment given under supervision of trained specialist