Blinding in acupuncture research: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials for pain using a sham acupuncture control

Objective: To study the various methods and levels of blinding in acupuncture research. Data sources: Reference lists of the most recent systematic review of acupuncture on pain, systematic search of MEDLINE from 1966 to August 2000, CINAHL from 1982 to August 2000, and HealthSTAR from 1975 to August 2000.Study selection: Randomized studies were included if they evaluated the effectiveness of acupuncture in painful conditions using a blinded …