| | Questions | Views | Respondents ()/all respondents (), % |
| | (3) Which way(s) do you prefer to judge the occurrence of Deqi? (multiple choices) | ① According to sensation of patient’s reaction. | 169/193, 87.56% | | ② According to sensation of your fingers | 157/193,81.35% | | ③ According to facial expression of patient | 66/193, 36.27% |
| (4) What is the probability of the case that Deqi has been felt by your fingers but the patient reported not?
| ① Less than 5% | 50/192, 26.04% | | ② 5%–10% | 97/192, 50.52% | | ③ 10%–15% | 26/192, 13.54% | | ④ 15–20% | 13/192, 6.77% | | ⑤ More than 20% | 6/192, 3.13% |
| | (5) Can you recognize whether the Deqi has appeared just by your fingers’ sensations during manipulations? | ① Yes | 171/194, 88.14% | | ② No | 23/194, 11.86% |
| | (6) What sensations have been felt by your fingers when Deqi has emerged? (multiple choice) | ① Sinking | 176/185, 95.14% | | ② Astringent | 141/185, 76.22% | | ③Tightening | 180/185, 97.30% | | ④ Others | 7/185, 3.78% |
| | (7) Please rank the acupuncturists’ Deqi sensations (those you chose in Question (6) in the order of their reliability for telling the arrival of Qi. | / | Shown in Figure 1 |
| | (8) When Deqi occurred, what are the sensations reported by patients? (multiple choices) | ① Sourness | 182/196, 92.86% | | ② Numbness | 170/196, 86.73% | | ③ Distention | 189/196, 96.43% | | ④ Heaviness | 139/196, 70.92% | | ⑤ Pain | 104/196, 53.06% | | ⑥ Others | 7/196, 3.57% |
| | (9) Please rank the patients’ Deqi sensations (those you chose in Question (8)) in the order of their reliability for telling the arrival of Qi. | / | Shown in Figure 2 |
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