[Thinking on methodologies and problems existed in clinical study of acupuncture and moxibustion]

The modernization and internationalization of acupuncture and moxibustion is inevitable trends to develop acupuncture and moxibustion. However, the acupuncture research findings in China are not accepted by the mainstream medicine abroad. The major problems are that the study purposes are not specific and the modern scientific research methods are not rationally used in acupuncture clinical study. Two major issues in acupuncture clinical study in China are the evaluation of the specificity of acupuncture and the overall effect of acupuncture treatment. The core and basis of acupuncture clinical study are the clarity of study purpose, following the law of evidence-based medicine and rational selection of modern scientific methods. On the basis of the characteristics of acupuncture and the specialty of acupuncture clinical study, for instance, the types of trial design, blind methods, the selection of control group and outcome assessment system, the objective of this paper provides research strategies for researchers and to improve the overall level of research in the acupuncture clinical study.