SynthesisFrontiers in pharmacology2024
Reporting characteristics and quality of randomized controlled trial protocols in traditional Chinese medicine: a cross-sectional study.
Synthesis in Frontiers in pharmacology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Evaluating the clinical evidence of TCM in Alzheimer's disease: an evidence map perspective.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Integrated meta-analysis, network pharmacology and experimental validation to explore the mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine against neonatal pneumonia: focus on naringenin/MAPK1.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Article
- Technological Advances in Anti-hair Loss and Hair Regrowth Cosmeceuticals: Mechanistic Breakthroughs and Industrial Prospects Driven by Multidisciplinary Collaborative Innovation.Aesthetic plastic surgery · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objectives: The impact of the Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials of Traditional Chinese Medicine (SPIRIT-TCM) Extension 2018 statement on the reporting quality of randomized controlled trial (RCT) protocols in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is not clear. This review aimed to assess the reporting characteristics and quality of RCT protocols involving interventions such as Chinese herbal medicine formulas (CHMF), acupuncture, and moxibustion published in the last 3 years. Methods: We conducted an extensive search among multiple databases, including All EBM Reviews, Allied and Complementary Medicine (AMED), Embase, Ovid MEDLINE(R), PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and ClinicalTrials.gov for publications in English from 1 January 2020 to 10 August 2023. Two reviewers independently assessed the eligibility of the publications, extracted predetermined information, and evaluated the reporting based on the SPIRIT-TCM Extension 2018 checklist. Results: Of the 420 eligible protocols (comprising 163 studies on CHMF, 239 on acupuncture, and 18 on moxibustion), the average reporting compliance rate was only 35.4%. Approximately half of the assessed items fell into the category of poorly reported, demonstrating a compliance rate below 65%. Notably, reporting compliance in acupuncture and moxibustion interventional studies exhibited higher scores than compliance in CHMF studies. Conclusion: Continued, concerted, and coordinated efforts are required by journals, editors, reviewers, and investigators to improve the application and promotion of the SPIRIT-TCM Extension 2018 reporting guideline.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.