Randomization and interventions
CAVITY, RECRUITMENT
A total of 120 eligible patients were recruited and were randomly assigned at a 2:1 ratio to the IAG or WMG. Randomization sequences were generated using SAS software (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). Random numbers were concealed using sequentially numbered, opaque, sealed envelopes by an independent researcher who was not involved in the clinical trial. The doctors and participants in the IAG and WMG could not be blinded to the treatment assignments given the nature of the interventions. Outcome assessors, data collectors, and statisticians were blinded to the treatment allocation. Due to the time limit of recruitment (March 2018 December 2019), patients with PAR mostly seek a variety of traditional Chinese medicine alternative treatment, and there are fewer patients treated with intranasal acupuncture alone or Western medicine alone, resulting in a relatively insufficient sample size.We developed the trial interventions in a consensus process with experienced acupuncture experts. In the IAG, participants received 7 treatments, that is, once every other day for 2 weeks. The acupuncture sites for IA treatment were selected to be Neiyingxiang (EX-HN9) and Biqiu points in the bilateral nasal cavity (Fig. According to the guidelines for the treatment of AR recommended by ARIA in 2016 [Study flow diagram. 