Reporting Randomized, Controlled Trials of Herbal Interventions: An Elaborated CONSORT Statement

TLDR

Herbal medicinal products are widely used, vary greatly in content and quality, and are actively tested in randomized, controlled trials. The authors aimed to develop recommendations for reporting RCTs of herbal medicine interventions by elaborating on the 22‑item CONSORT checklist. They conducted telephone calls and held a consensus meeting with 16 participants in Toronto, Canada, to formulate these recommendations. The group agreed on context‑specific elaborations for nine CONSORT items, with the most extensive elaboration on item 4 concerning the herbal medicine intervention, thereby improving RCT reporting.

Abstract

Herbal medicinal products are widely used, vary greatly in content and quality, and are actively tested in randomized, controlled trials (RCTs). The authors' objective was to develop recommendations for reporting RCTs of herbal medicine interventions, based on the need to elaborate on the 22-item CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) checklist. Telephone calls were made and a consensus meeting was held with 16 participants in Toronto, Canada, to develop these recommendations. The group agreed on context-specific elaborations of 9 CONSORT checklist items for RCTs of herbal medicines. Item 4, concerning the herbal medicine intervention, required the most extensive elaboration. These recommendations have been developed to improve the reporting of RCTs using herbal medicine interventions.