title: Discrimination of real and sham acupuncture needles using the park sham device: a preliminary study.
abstract: Tan C-W, Christie L, St-Georges V, Telford N. Discrimination of real and sham acupuncture needles using the Park sham device: a preliminary study.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the blinding effectiveness of the Park sham acupuncture device using participants' ability to discriminate between the real and sham acupuncture needles.
  
  
  METHODS
  The design was a yes-no experiment. Judgments were made on whether the real or sham acupuncture needle was administered.
  
  
  METHODS
  University laboratory.
  
  
  METHODS
  Healthy, acupuncture-naive university students and staff (N=20; median age, 22y; range, 18-48y) recruited through convenience sampling.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants made yes-no judgments on whether the real or sham needle was administered to 8 acupoints (4 traditional and 4 nontraditional) along the Pericardium meridian (Pericardium 3 to Pericardium 6) on the dominant forearm.
  
  
  METHODS
  The accuracy index, d', of participants' ability to discriminate between the real and sham needles (discriminability) was computed for the traditional alone, the nontraditional alone, and a combination of both types of acupoints.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The participants' d' between the real and sham needles was not statistically significant from d' equal to 0 for the combined traditional and nontraditional acupoints comparison and the nontraditional acupoints alone comparison (combined, t(19)=1.20, P=.25; nontraditional, t(19)=.16, P=.87). However, the participants' d' was statistically significant from d' equal to 0 for the traditional acupoints comparison (t(19)=2.096, P=.049).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Park sham acupuncture device appears to be effective in blinding participants to real acupuncture intervention when it is applied to the nontraditional acupoints and when traditional and nontraditional acupoints are combined on the forearm along the pericardium meridian. However, the sham device does not appear to blind participants effectively when traditional acupoints alone are used for the same context.
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, Queen Margaret University Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. ctan@qmu.ac.uk
authors.forename: Chee-Wee
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Lauren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Christie
authors.forename: Véronique
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: St-Georges
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Telford
mesh_terms: D015669:Acupuncture Points; D015670:Acupuncture Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009339:Needles; D010919:Placebos; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010919:Placebos