Results
Recruitment took place between January 2001 and December
2002. We selected 97 patients to participate in the study, all of
whom agreed to take part. Table 2 lists the baseline characteris-
tics of the patients; we found no clinically relevant differences in
the variables that we analysed (total WOMAC, pain visual
analogue scale, PQLC) at baseline. Of the nine patients who
dropped out of the study, one out of 48 (2.1%) was in the treat-
ment group and abandoned the programme because of fear of
the acupuncture process, and eight of 49 (16.3%) were in the
control group (six left due to lack of improvement and two for
personal reasons; fig 2). The only significant difference between
completers and non-completers was their age (they were six
years older than non-completers; P = 0.03). Adverse effects after
acupuncture treatment were limited to three patients who
reported bruising at one of the acupuncture points (SP9).