Acupuncture expectation refers to the subjective estimation for the effect of acupuncture to be applied. As sham acupuncture is usually used in acupuncture randomized clinical trials,there exists the effect of acupuncture expectation on subjects. It is necessary to evaluate and standardize it. The factors that influence the evaluation standard of acupuncture expectations are different acupuncture expectation value evaluations,evaluation criterions and time points. They will affect the evaluation of clinical efficacy. It is urgent to establish a unified evaluation standard to improve its reliability.
Keywords: acupuncture expectation value; randomized controlled trial(RCT); uniform standard.