The design and reporting of sham acupuncture and its association with the efficacy in acupuncture randomized controlled trials for migraine

The reporting quality of sham acupuncture in the acupuncture RCTs focusing on migraine was inadequate. Some details and context factors of sham acupuncture were often not reported. The differences of manipulation between sham and true acupuncture may be significant factors affecting the effect of acupuncture for migraine. In future acupuncture trials, the manipulation-related factors should be considered in the design of sham acupuncture and the specific reporting guidelines for sham acupuncture like SHARE should be adopted.