Evidence supports acupuncture recommendations
| Variable | N (%) |
| Type of study supporting acupuncture recommendations*(n=433) | |
| SR or meta-analysis | 135 (31.2) |
| RCT or CCT | 250 (57.7) |
| Observational studies | 114 (26.3) |
| Narrative review | 36 (8.3) |
| Expert consensus | 24 (5.5) |
| Chinese classic texts/ Textbook | 4 (0.9) |
| Not reported | 47 (10.9) |
| Recommendations used GRADE to assess thecertainty of evidence (n=314) | |
| Comprehensive CPG | 46 (40.7) |
| T&CM CPG | 24 (36.3) |
| Acupuncture-specific CPG | 244 (96.1) |
| Certainty of evidencesupporting recommendations using GRADE (n=314) | |
| High | 5 (1.6) |
| Moderate | 33 (10.5) |
| Low | 105 (33.4) |
| Very low | 157 (50.0) |
| Not reported | 14 (4.5) |
*One recommendation can contribute to more than one category.
development, and evaluation, CCT, controlled clinical trial; CPG, clinical practice guidelines; GRADE, Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation; RCT, randomised controlled trial; SR, systematic review; T&CM, traditional and complementary medicine.