Tandon 1991.

Methods	Design: cross‐over Allocation concealment: unclear Blinding: patients and evaluators Drop‐outs/withdrawals: not given Jadad score: 1‐0‐0 Study schedule: 3 weeks baseline, 5 weeks treatment 1, 3 weeks washout, 5 weeks treatment 2.
Participants	N = 15, (6 female, 9 male). Age range 19‐57 years. Diagnosis ‐ Chronic stable asthma according to American Thoracic Society (ATS) criteria. All on inhaled steroids, all except 1 on theophylline. No oral steroids or cromoglycate.
Interventions	Acupuncture group: Standardized laser acupuncture formulae (n = 15) with 8 body points (SP‐6, ST‐36, LIV‐9, LI‐11, REN‐17, REN‐22, BL‐13, EX‐BW1) and 3 ear points ( asthma, lung, internal secretions). Treatment with helium‐neon‐laser had a wavelength of 632,8 nm and emitted beam of 5.6 mw at the tip of the probe. Power density delivered at each point was 0.56 J/cm2 per second. Control group: Sham laser acupuncture (n = 15) at 7 non‐specific (not indicated for asthma) acupuncture points (GB‐34, LIV‐8, LIV‐14, SI‐3, SI‐6, BL‐18, BL‐25) and 2 ear points (uterus and bladder). Treatment duration: 10 sessions (each 20 seconds for body and 10 sec for ear acupuncture) in 5 weeks. Acupuncturist: Physician, training not stated. TCM‐Diagnosis done/applied to intervention: (‐/‐)
Outcomes	Pulmonary function, drug use, symptom score and treatment preference.
Notes	Crossover design and data presentation unsuited for meta‐analysis. No significant effects between or within groups.
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Adequate sequence generation?	Unclear risk	No information available
Allocation concealment?	Unclear risk	No information available
Blinding? All outcomes	High risk	Active and sham acupuncture not administered at identical sites
Incomplete outcome data addressed? All outcomes	Unclear risk	No information available
Free of other bias?	Unclear risk	Not enough information as to level of training