Table 1 Characteristics of the MEDACT and GEARS clinical trials
From: Key considerations for conducting Chinese medicine clinical trials in hospitals
| Â | MEDACT | GEARS |
|---|---|---|
Condition treated | Acute pain; ankle sprain, non-specific low back pain or migraine | COPD |
Design | RCT | RCT |
Funding source | Government funding body (NHMRC) | Government funding body (NHMRC) |
Source of patients | Hospital ED | Community and outpatients |
Location of patient visits | Hospital ED | Hospital outpatients |
Number of sites | 4 | 4 |
Number of participants | 505 | 168 |
Number of groups | 3 | 2 |
Intervention | Acupuncture or acupuncture plus standard care (pharmacotherapy) | Panax ginseng (herb) |
Control | Standard care (pharmacotherapy) | Placebo |
Treatment duration | 1 treatment | 6 months |
Follow-up | 48 hours | 6 months |
Outcomes | 1. Pain and disability scales | 1. Quality of life |
2. Quality of life | 2. Lung function | |
3. Acceptably of treatment and willingness to repeat | 3. Use of relief medication | |
4. Adverse events | 4. Exacerbations | |
5. Health resource utilization | 5. Adverse events | |
Recruitment status | Completed: target reached 2011 | Ongoing: completion target 2013 |