title: Standards for Reporting Interventions in Controlled Trials of Acupuncture: the STRICTA recommendations.
abstract: Acupuncture treatment and control group interventions in parallel-group randomized trials of acupuncture are not always precisely reported. In an attempt to improve standards, an international group of experienced acupuncturists and researchers devised a set of recommendations, designating them STRICTA: STandards for Reporting Interventions in Controlled Trials of Acupuncture. In a further consensus-building round, the editors of several journals helped redraft the recommendations. These follow the Consolidated Standards for Reporting Trials (CONSORT) format, acting as an extension of the CONSORT guidelines for the specific requirements of acupuncture studies. Participating journals are publishing the STRICTA recommendations and requesting prospective authors to adhere to them when preparing reports for publication. Other journals are invited to adopt these recommendations. The intended outcome is that interventions in controlled trials of acupuncture will be more adequately reported, thereby facilitating an improvement in critical appraisal, analysis and replication of trials.
authors.affiliation: STRICTA Group, Foundation for Traditional Chinese Medicine, York, United Kingdom. hugh@ftcm.org.uk
authors.forename: Hugh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: MacPherson
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cummings
authors.forename: Kim A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Jobst
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.forename: Richard C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Niemtzow
mesh_terms: D015670:Acupuncture Therapy / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D018849:Controlled Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008499:Medical Records / Q000592:standards*; D011643:Publishing / Q000592:standards*; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States