Search strategy used in PubMed database
| No | Search items |
|---|---|
| 1 | Randomised controlled trial |
| 2 | Controlled clinical trial |
| 3 | Randomised |
| 4 | Randomly |
| 5 | Placebo |
| 6 | Trial |
| 7 | 1 or 2–6 |
| 8 | Dementia |
| 9 | Alzheimer's disease |
| 10 | Cognitive disorders |
| 11 | Cognitive impairment |
| 12 | dement* |
| 13 | Alzheimer* |
| 14 | 8 or 9–13 |
| 15 | Acupuncture therapy |
| 16 | Acupuncture |
| 17 | Acupoints |
| 18 | Acupuncture* |
| 19 | Body acupuncture |
| 20 | Scalp acupuncture |
| 21 | Auricular acupuncture |
| 22 | Electroacupuncture |
| 23 | Fire needling |
| 24 | Elongated needle |
| 25 | Intradermal needling |
| 26 | 15 or 16–25 |
| 27 | 7 and 14 and 26 |
*Any words containing this searching item will be searched. This search strategy will be suitable for other electronic databases.