Assessment of the quality of reporting for treatment components in Cochrane reviews of acupuncture

Ref ID 138
First Author K. H. Kim
Journal BMJ OPEN
Year Of Publishing 2014
URL https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3902460/pdf/bmjopen-2013-004136.pdf
Keywords Cochrane
Complimentary & Alternative
Low reporting quality
Problem(s) Intervention not described / defined
Individual study characteristics not reported sufficiently
Weaknesses identified in some Cochrane reviews
Number of systematic reviews included 25
Summary of Findings The 25 included Cochrane reviews were 16% less likely to report the acupuncture-related items using the Standards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA) tool, than the 92 randomised controlled trials comprising the reviews (risk ratio 0.84, 95% CI 0.79 to 0.88, I2=8%). Information was significantly better reported for 10 of the 15 treatment-group items of STRICTA in RCTs than in Cochrane reviews ( p<0.05), while four items did so without statistical significance.
Did the article find that the problem(s) led to qualitative changes in interpretation of the results? Not Applicable
Are the methods of the article described in enough detail to replicate the study? No