The standardized reports of simulated acupuncture control are conductive to understanding and replicating the control method for researchers and readers. At present

the reporting quality of the simulated control in the clinical research of acupuncture is low and there is not a guideline

specification or standard specifically for the report of simulated acupuncture control. In this article

we compared in-depth the checklists between STRICTA(standards for reporting interventions in clinical trials of acupuncture) and TIDieR-Placebo(a guide and checklist for reporting placebo and sham controls)

and assessed their applicability in acupuncture clinical research. The checklist of STRICTA is a particular standard for reporting acupuncture intervention measures

including the items of acupuncture control

especially the reporting of the details in acupuncture control; while

the checklist of TIDieR-Placebo is for the comprehensive reporting of placebo or sham control

covering a wider range of content. It specifies the overall reporting of the placebo control setting

intervention delivery and blindness assessment. Although both of the checklists provide a certain reference for reporting simulated acupuncture

they are not applicable for adequately reporting the simulated acupuncture control. Therefore

it is urgent to develop a specific guideline for reporting simulated acupuncture control so as to improve the reporting quality.