Extending the CONSORT Statement to moxibustion

The STandards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials Of Moxibustion （STRICTOM）, in the form of a checklist and descriptions of checklist items, were designed to improve reporting of moxibustion trials, and thereby facilitating their interpretation and replication. The STRICTOM checklist included 7 items and 16 sub-items. These set out reporting guidelines for the moxibustion rationale, details of moxibustion, treatment regimen, other components of treatment, treatment provider background, control and comparator interventions, and precaution measures. In addition, there were descriptions of each item and examples of good reporting. It is intended that the STRICTOM can be used in conjunction with the main CONSORT Statement, extensions for nonpharmacologic treatment and pragmatic trials, and thereby raise the quality of reporting of clinical trials of moxibustion. Further comments will be solicited from the experts of the CONSORT Group, the STRICTA Group, acupuncture and moxibustion societies, and clinical trial authors for optimizing the STRICTOM.

Acupuncture treatment of empty nose syndrome:A case report

Background:Empty nose syndrome(ENS)is an iatrogenic disorder that most commonly presents with paradoxical nasal obstruction.Diagnosis of ENS is based mainly on symptomatology and surgical history.Symptomatic or surgical treatment is typically offered to patients.Case presentation:A 17-year-old Chinese male presented with ENS following inferior turbinate resection.His main symptoms were dizziness and nasal congestion.He was diagnosed with a traditional Chinese medicine syndrome pattern of liver yang ascending.Acupuncture treatment involved needling ST 36(Zusanli)GB 20(Fengchi),PC 6(Neiguan),LI 4(Hegu),LR 3(Taichong),LR 2(Xingjian),GB 43(Xiaxi),DU 20(Baihui),EX-HN3(Yintang),ST 2(Sibai),and LI 20(Yingxiang).Near complete resolution of dizziness and nasal congestion were achieved after 2 treatments.Conclusion:Acupuncture may be used to resolve symptoms of ENS.Acupoint selection and needle manipulation should be based on TCM pattern diagnosis.

Clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of primary liver cancer with integrative traditional Chinese and Western medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） is an important part of the treatment of primary liver cancer （PLC） in China; however, the current instructions for the integrative use of traditional Chinese and Western medicine for PLC are mostly based on expert opinion. There is no evidence-based guideline for clinical prac-tice in this field. Therefore, the Shanghai Association of Chinese Integrative Medicine has established a multidisciplinary working group to develop this guideline, which focuses on the most important questions about the use of TCM during PLC treatment. This guideline was developed following the method- ological process recommended by the World Health Organization Handbook for Guideline Development. Two rounds of questionnaire survey were performed to identify clinical questions; published evidence was searched; the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach was used to evaluate the body of evidence; and recommendations were formulated by combining the quality of evidence, patient preferences and values, and other risk factors. The guideline was written based on the Reporting Items for Practice Guidelines in Healthcare tool. This guideline contains 10 recommendations related to 8 questions, including recommendations for early treatment by TCM after surgery, TCM combined with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for advanced PLC, TCM drugs for external use, and acupuncture and moxibustion therapy.