Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Many studies of acupuncture treatment are seriously flawed by methodological problems. Poor design, inadequate measures and statistical analysis, lack of follow-up data and sub-standard treatment are all too common. However, the major problem, which many investigators consider to be still unresolved, is the definition of an appropriate placebo control. The use of inappropriate placebo controls has bedeviled acupuncture research and led to serious misinterpretation of the results of clinical trials. While a number of different solutions have been proposed there is, as yet, no agreed way of assessing the adequacy of control conditions or of deciding which placebo to use in a particular trial. We propose that assessing the credibility of treatments and control conditions may provide a way forward to a more rigorous, consensus approach.

Type

Journal article

Journal

J R Soc Med

Publication Date

04/1995

Volume

88

Pages

199 - 202

Keywords

Acupuncture Therapy, Controlled Clinical Trials as Topic, Humans, Placebos