Blinding assessment in randomised sham-controlled trials of acupuncture:protocol for a systematic survey.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Although various sham acupuncture techniques have been employed to ensure blinding in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture, the effectiveness of blinding in these trials and its influence on trial effect size estimates remain unclear. The objectives of this study are the following: (1) to investigate the proportion and study characteristics of sham-controlled trials reporting on blinding assessment, (2) to assess the blinding effectiveness of different types of sham acupuncture, (3) to investigate the relationship between blinding effectiveness and effect sizes in acupuncture RCTs.

Methods and analysis

We will search PubMed and EMBASE from inception to 1 January 2025 to identify RCTs that compared acupuncture with sham acupuncture in humans with an

SUBMITTER: Yang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11784118 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature