The journal of alternative and complementary medicine : research on paradigm, practice, and policy
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J Altern Complement Med · May 2011
Randomized Controlled TrialEfficacy of Tripterygium hypoglaucum Hutch in adults with chronic urticaria.
The study objectives were to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Tripterygium hypoglaucum Hutch (THH) in adult with severe chronic urticaria (CU) by performing a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. ⋯ This study shows that the therapeutic effect of THH with cetirizine is predominant over that of cetirizine alone in adult CU. THH with cetirizine may play an important role in the therapy of CU and be a useful treatment for CU.
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J Altern Complement Med · May 2011
Comparative StudyOpposing systematic reviews: the effects of two quality rating instruments on evidence regarding t'ai chi and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women.
This article compares and contrasts two systematic reviews of t'ai chi (TC) interventions on bone mineral density in postmenopausal women. The aim is to examine how chosen quality rating instruments can impact systematic reviews of TC literature. ⋯ Readers must exercise caution concerning high or low ratings from systematic reviews of TC studies because the choice of quality rating tool can dramatically influence the summary and conclusions of the reviews. There is no consensus on quality rating standards at this time. Of the two, the Jadad scale was not only inadequate but also inappropriate for reviewing TC studies, potentially misleading researchers, clinicians and policymakers. Future systematic reviews of TC should utilize instruments that are updated to current scientific standards, comprehensive, adaptable to clinical context, and relevant to the research topic.
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J Altern Complement Med · May 2011
Development of an instrument to assess the quality of acupuncture: results from a Delphi process.
Quality acupuncture influences the outcomes of clinical research, and issues associated with effective administration of acupuncture in randomized controlled trials need to be addressed when appraising studies. ⋯ Items for inclusion in an instrument to assess quality acupuncture in clinical research were identified. Further development of the instrument including relative weighting of items and reliability testing is under way.