ACURATE: A guide for reporting sham controls in trials using acupuncture

This paper presents the Acupuncture Controls gUideline for Reporting humAn Trials and Experiments (ACURATE) checklist, an extension of The Consolidated Standards for Reporting of Trials (CONSORT) and to be used along with STandards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA) when both real and sham acupuncture needles are used in the study. This checklist focuses on a clear depiction of sham needling procedures to enhance replicability and enable a precise appraisal. We en-courage researchers to use ACURATE in trials and reviews involving sham acupuncture to assist reporting of sham acupuncture procedures and the related components.(c) 2023 Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine. Published by Elsevier B.V.This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Automated summary

This paper presents the ACURATE checklist, which is an extension of CONSORT and to be used with STRICTA when both real and sham acupuncture needles are used. The checklist provides a clear depiction of sham needling procedures to enhance replicability and enable a precise appraisal. Researchers are encouraged to use ACURATE in trials and reviews involving sham acupuncture to assist reporting of sham acupuncture procedures.