Table 2 Treatment outcomes of patients in the SA and EA group
|  | Sham acupuncture (SA) n = 27 | Electro-acupuncture (EA) n = 30 | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
Primary Endpoint | |||
Relative liver fat reduction from baseline in MRI-PDFF %, [medium (p25, p75)] | |||
 Week 12 | − 15.8 (− 36.1, − 2.7) | − 33.6 (− 52.9, − 22.7) | 0.022* |
 Week 16 | − 13.2 (− 35.0, − 3.2) | − 38.4 (− 55.3, − 16.6) | 0.026* |
Secondary endpoints | |||
Patients with a ≥ 30% relative decline in MRI-PDFF%, n (%) | |||
 Week 12 | 7/27 (25.9%) | 16/30 (53.3%) | 0.035* |
 Week 16 | 11/27 (40.7%) | 18/30 (60.0%) | 0.146 |
Liver stiffness by MRE, kPa [medium (p25, p75)] | Â | ||
 Week 12 | 0.2 (− 0.2, 0.6) | − 0.1 (− 0.5, 0.3) | 0.156 |
 Week 16 | 0.2 (− 0.2, 0.5) | − 0.1 (− 0.4, 0.4) | 0.201 |
BMI, kg/m2 [medium (p25, p75)] | Â | ||
 Week 12 | − 0.6 (− 1.4, 0.3) | − 1.3 (− 3.0, − 0.3) | 0.024* |
 Week 16 | − 0.2 (− 1.2, 0.3) | − 1.5 (− 2.4, − 0.3) | 0.013* |
Body weight, kg [medium (p25, p75)] | Â | Â | |
 Week 12 | − 1.3 (− 4.7, 0.5) | − 3.0 (− 6.4, − 0.5) | 0.185 |
 Week 16 | 0.1 (− 2.9, 0.9) | − 3.0 (− 6.0, − 0.8) | 0.034* |
WHR, % [medium (p25, p75)] | Â | Â | |
 Week 12 | − 0.7 (− 5.8, 2.3) | − 2.3 (− 4.7, 1.0) | 0.260 |
 Week 16 | − 0.3 (− 4.0, 1.8) | − 0.8 (− 4.3, 2.8) | 0.528 |
Biochemical varieties, Week 12 [medium (p25, p75)] | Â | ||
 ALT, U/L | − 34.0 (-49.0, − 10.0) | − 52.5 (− 76.0, − 20.0) | 0.114 |
 AST, U/L | − 16.2 (− 24.3, − 6.4) | − 27.4 (− 45.1, − 15.0) | 0.015* |
 GGT, U/L | − 15.0 (− 26.0, − 7.0) | − 13.0 (− 28.0, − 5.0) | 0.749 |
 ALP, U/L | 0.0 (− 11.0, 6.0) | − 0.5 (− 5.0, 12.0) | 0.667 |
 CHO, mmol/L | 0.0 (− 0.7, 0.6) | − 0.3 (− 1.0, 0.2) | 0.228 |
 TG, mmol/L | − 0.3 (− 0.9, 0.2) | − 0.5 (− 0.9, 0.1) | 0.306 |
 LDL, mmol/L | − 0.1 (− 0.5, 0.3) | − 0.1 (− 0.4, 0.3) | 0.848 |
 FBG, mmol/L | − 0.3 (− 0.4, 0.2) | − 0.3 (− 0.8, 0.0) | 0.139 |
 HbA1c% | 0.0 (− 0.3, 0.1) | − 0.2 (− 0.3, 0.0) | 0.161 |
 HOMA-IR | − 1.6 (− 3.9, 0.4) | − 2.2 (− 5.7, − 0.7) | 0.164 |