| Methods |
Design: three group parallel trial
Purpose: examine the prophylactic effect of acupuncture on perioperative nausea |
| Participants |
Patients: surgical in‐patients undergoing minor gynaecological procedures
Baseline comparability: 'broadly comparable', but no data presented |
| Interventions |
Placebo: needling on the lateral elbow crease, a point that is not on any recognized acupuncture line
Untreated: no needling
Experimental: needling at the P6 point (Neiguan)
(Co‐intervention: 10 mg nalbuphene as routine premedication) |
| Outcomes |
Number of patients with nausea |
| Notes |
|
| Risk of bias |
| Bias |
Authors' judgement |
Support for judgement |
| Adequate sequence generation? |
Unclear risk |
NS |
| Allocation concealment? |
Unclear risk |
NS |
| Blinding?
Treatment provider |
High risk |
Not described as double‐blind (placebo/acupuncture) |
| Blinding?
Outcome assessor |
Low risk |
'These assessments were performed by an observer who was unaware of which patients had undergone acupuncture' |
| Incomplete outcome data addressed?
All outcomes |
High risk |
Drop‐out > 15% or NS |
| Free of selective reporting? |
Unclear risk |
No protocol available |
| Free of other bias? |
Low risk |
|
| No signs of variance inequality or skewness? |
Unclear risk |
Not relevant (binary outcome) |
| Trial size > 49? |
Low risk |
N = 50 |
| Clearly concealed allocation + trial size > 49 + drop‐out max 15% |
High risk |
Drop‐out > 15% or NS |
