Interpretation of SHARE: SHam Acupuncture REporting guidelines and a checklist in clinical trials

Sham acupuncture, as a control intervention in acupuncture studies, has been widely conducted to evaluate the specific effect of acupuncture. However, there was no relevant particular reporting guideline, so the reporting quality of sham acupuncture was low, which could hinder the precise understanding and interpretation of details and implementation background of sham acupuncture by researchers. In order to standardize the reporting of sham acupuncture and improve its quality, SHam Acupuncture REporting guidelines and a checklist in clinical trials (SHARE) was developed by a research team from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. The SAHRE standardizes the reporting of sham acupuncture from 10 categories, including brief name, rationales, details of sham acupuncture, treatment regimen of sham acupuncture, the information informed or explained to patients, practitioner information, modifications of protocol, communication between practitioner and patient, practitioner adherence and blinding. This article elaborates the development process and key content of SHARE in order to facilitate its application by researchers.