Table 3.
GRADE analyses: acupuncture treatment for lateral epicondylitis.
| Primary and secondary outcomes | No. of study (subjects) | Risk of bias | Inconsistence | Indirectness | Imprecision | Publication bias | Overall quality of evidencea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical efficacy rate | 8 (701) | No | Seriousb | No | No | No | +/+/+/−/; moderate |
| VAS | 6 (368) | No | Seriousb | No | Seriousc | No | +/+/−/−/; low |
GRADE = Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation; VAS = visual analogue scale. aGRADE working group grades of evidence: high quality = further research is very unlikely to change our confidence in the estimate of effect; moderate quality = further research is likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and may change the estimate; low quality = further research is very likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and is likely to change the estimate; very low quality = we are very uncertain about the estimate. bMeta-analytic results presented a serious inconsistency when I2 values were greater than 20% in the Q statistics. CMeta-analytic results presented a serious imprecision when 95% CI = effect size in the Q statistics.