On 2015 May 29, Hongjian He commented:

One our main criticisms of this publication was that there was no detailed reporting of number of needles used per treatment, acupuncture sites targeted per treatment, and specific treatment duration and electric stimulation for each patient. Dr. Hinman responded by stating:

"Dr. He suggests lack of acupuncture standardization, treatment infrequency, and no electrical stimulation may explain our findings. However, when comparing acupuncture with sham treatment, a meta-analysis1 found no evidence that needle number or placement; use of electrical stimulation; or number, frequency, or duration of treatments influence acupuncture outcomes"

We looked at the article Dr. Hinman cited (MacPherson et al., PLoS 2013) and she did not do a good job of reading it. They showed that number of needles used per treatment was statistically significantly correlated with effect size. The electrical stimulation had a significantly stronger effect. She incorrectly summarized the study results. Therefore, Dr. Hinman’s statement that needle numbers, length of treatment and electric stimulation have no effect on acupuncture outcomes is incorrect. We still await a sufficient explanation for why these specifics were not reported in her study.

On 2015 May 29, Hongjian He commented:

One our main criticisms of this publication was that there was no detailed reporting of number of needles used per treatment, acupuncture sites targeted per treatment, and specific treatment duration and electric stimulation for each patient. Dr. Hinman responded by stating:

"Dr. He suggests lack of acupuncture standardization, treatment infrequency, and no electrical stimulation may explain our findings. However, when comparing acupuncture with sham treatment, a meta-analysis1 found no evidence that needle number or placement; use of electrical stimulation; or number, frequency, or duration of treatments influence acupuncture outcomes"

We looked at the article Dr. Hinman cited (MacPherson et al., PLoS 2013) and she did not do a good job of reading it. They showed that number of needles used per treatment was statistically significantly correlated with effect size. The electrical stimulation had a significantly stronger effect. She incorrectly summarized the study results. Therefore, Dr. Hinman’s statement that needle numbers, length of treatment and electric stimulation have no effect on acupuncture outcomes is incorrect. We still await a sufficient explanation for why these specifics were not reported in her study.