Guizhi Fuling wan for chronic pelvic inflammatory disease protocol: A protocol for systematic review and meta analysis

Background:Chronic pelvic inflammatory disease (CPID) is one of common diseases of department of gynaecology, point to female inside genital and circumferential organization to suffer from infection of all sorts of pathogenic bacteria and cause chronic inflammation sex disease, also cause one of main factors of infertile of female of childbearing age period. Due to its insidious onset, it is not easy to find out in the early stage. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain satisfactory curative effect by taking routine treatment with antibiotics. In recent years, TCM has made great strides in the treatment of chronic pelvic inflammation, a number of clinical studies have shown that Guizhi Fuling wan combined with antibiotics can significantly improve the clinical symptoms and enhance the therapeutic effect. Therefore, we intend to conduct a system review and meta-analysis to further clarify the effectiveness and safety of GZFLW for CPID.Methods:We will search each database from the built-in until September2020.The English literature mainly searches Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science, while the Chinese literature comes from CNKI, CBM, VIP, and Wangfang database. Simultaneously we will retrieval clinical registration tests and grey literatures. This study only screens the clinical randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about GZFLW for CPID to assess its efficacy and safety. The 2 researchers worked independently on literature selection, data extraction, and quality assessment. The dichotomous data is represented by relative risk (RR), and the continuous is expressed by mean difference (MD) or standard mean difference (SMD), eventually the data is synthesized using a fixed effect model (FEM) or a random effect model (REM) depending on whether or not heterogeneity exists. The clinical efficacy, pelvic effusion and mass were evaluated as the main outcomes. The serum interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), erythrocyte specific volume was secondary outcomes. Finally, meta-analysis was conducted by RevMan software version 5.3.Results:This study will provide high-quality evidence for treatment of CPID with GZFLW in terms of effectiveness and safety.Conclusion:This systematic review aims to provide new options for GZFLW treatment of CPID in terms of its efficacy and safety.Ethics and dissemination:This study does not require ethical approval. We will disseminate our findings by publishing results in a peer-reviewed journal.OSF registration number:DOI 10.17605 / OSF.IO / R9NVT.     

Clinical acupuncture therapy for chronic cholecystitis: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Chronic cholecystitis is a common chronic disease in clinical practice. The incidence of chronic cholecystitis is gradually increasing due to changes in eating habits and even if acute infections aren’t treated in time, it can cause serious complications, continue to plague people''s daily life and become an economic burden to society. Currently, the curative effect of chronic cholecystitis under the control of western medicine is still lacking and there are adverse reactions. However, based on current clinical controlled trials acupuncture therapy for chronic cholecystitis has gradually become a complementary treatment. Therefore, this systematic review aims to explore the safety and feasibility of acupuncture therapy in the treatment of chronic cholecystitis.Methods:We will search the following databases: Medline, PubMed, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Embase, Chinese Biomedical Literatures Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wang Fang Database, Chinese Scientific Journal Database from inception to February 2021 without any language restriction. At the same time, relevant literature will be searched manually. The main search terms include: “Acupuncture,” “Cholecystitis.” Data entry will be completed by 2 researchers separately. After entry, cross-checking will be performed to ensure the authenticity of the information. The main outcome criteria include: including the total effective rate of the patient; the traditional Chinese medicine symptom score of the patient includes: abdominal pain, tenderness in the right upper abdomen, and so on; secondary outcome criteria include: gallbladder contraction function and gallbladder thickness, VAS scores, recurrence rate, adverse reactions; use Cochrane risk bias assessment to evaluate and score the included randomized controlled trial; meta-analysis will be performed using RevMan 5.4.0 software. The heterogeneity test is based on the thresholds of P and I², In order to use solid or random effects models.Results:This systematic review only evaluates the safety and limitations of acupuncture therapy in the treatment of chronic cholecystitis. We will report the full text in the near future.Conclusion:This study will explore the safety and limitations of acupuncture therapy in the treatment of chronic cholecystitis, so that acupuncture therapy will be more widely used clinically.Trial registration number:INPLASY202120020     

Acupuncture plus Tuina for chronic insomnia: A protocol of a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Insomnia is a common sleep disorder. It refers to a subjective feeling of dissatisfaction with sleep duration and quality that affects social functioning, even though there are appropriate opportunities and environments for sleep. The disease for a long time can easily cause physical and mental fatigue, anxiety, depression, and other symptoms. Anxiety, depression, and insomnia can worsen the condition. Acupuncture and Tuina therapy has been widely used in the treatment of chronic insomnia, and this study aimed to conduct a meta-analysis of acupuncture plus Tuina in the treatment of chronic insomnia to clarify its efficacy.Methods:The following databases will be searched: Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and Medline databases. In addition, we will also collect 4 databases of China: China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Biomedical Literature Database, VIP Database, and Wan-fang Database. We selected eligible studies published up to October 2021. We used Review Manager 5.4, provided by the Cochrane Collaborative Network for statistical analysis. Clinical randomized controlled trials related to acupuncture plus Tuina for chronic insomnia were included in this study. Language is limited to both Chinese and English languages. Study selection, data extraction, and study quality assessment were independently performed by 2 researchers. We then assessed the quality and risk of the included studies and observed the outcome indicators.Results:This study provides a high-quality synthesis to assess the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture plus Tuina for treating chronic insomnia.Conclusion:This systematic review will provide evidence to determine whether acupuncture plus Tuina is an effective and safe intervention for patients with chronic insomnia.Ethics and dissemination:The protocol of the systematic review does not require ethical approval because it does not involve humans. This article will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at relevant conferences.Registration number:INPLASY2021100115     

Auricular acupuncture for shoulder pain: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Shoulder pain is a common problem in outpatient medical practice. Recent studies show that acupuncture has therapeutic effect on releasing symptoms of shoulder pain. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to access the efficacy and safety of auricular acupuncture for shoulder pain.Methods:Eight databases will be searched for randomized controlled trials of auricular acupuncture in the treatment of shoulder pain with retrieval time up to September 2020, including PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, Web of science, CNKI, VIP, CBM, and Wangfang Data databases. We will evaluate the methodological quality of the included studies by using Cochrane Risk of Bias tool and conduct data analysis with Review Manager Software.Results:The results of this study will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed journal publication.Conclusion:The systematic review will provide up-to-date evidence for the efficacy and safety of auricular acupuncture in treating shoulder pain.PROSPERO registration number:CRD 42021238797     

Acupuncture for postoperative delirium (POD): A systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

Background:Postoperative delirium (POD) is a form of delirium that is newly diagnosed after a surgical procedure. This study aims to examine the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture treatment for POD in patients who underwent surgery.Methods:Randomized controlled trials for patients diagnosed with POD using validated delirium assessment scales will be included in this review. Electronic databases, such as MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, CINAHL (English DB), CNKI, Wanfang, VIP (Chinese database), KoreaMed, RISS, KISS, DBpia, OASIS (Korean DB), and J-STAGE (Japanese DB) will be searched without language limitation from their inception to October 2020. The intervention group will include patients who have received any type of acupuncture treatment for POD. The control group will include individuals with no treatment, sham acupuncture treatment, and conventional treatment. The primary outcome is the incidence of POD in each study. Quality assessment will be performed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. A meta-analysis will be performed to pool the estimated effect.Conclusion:This study will provide evidence for acupuncture as a potential treatment for POD, in researchers, patients, and policy makers.Dissemination:The result of the study will be disseminated through posters, press releases, conference presentations, and peer-reviewed papers.Trial registration number:OSF 2020: (https://osf.io/usvdg)     

Acupuncture and electroacupuncture for stroke: A protocol for overview of systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:The aim of this study was to undertake a systematic overview of meta-analyses and published systematic reviews to identify whether and when acupunctureand electroacupuncture are deemed efficacious treatment options for stroke and stroke-related disorders.Methods:Four databases, namely, PubMed, AMED, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library will be searched from their inception. Two reviewers will independently perform study selection, data extraction, and assessment. This will be followed by an assessment of the methodological and report quality using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews-2 tool. Finally, the study will entail the assessment of evidence quality by employing the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system.Results:This overview is expected to provide data on using acupuncture for stroke and stroke-related disorders on the basis of the included systematic reviews’ qualitative and quantitative syntheses.Conclusion:This overview will assess the benefits as well as hazards of acupuncture for stroke, subsequently providing patients and practitioners with useful information and have implications for future studies on the topic.Trial registration number:Reviewregistry1263     

Acupuncture for treating tic disorders in children: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Tic disorders (TDs) are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders in children, while pharmacotherapy is often associated with various side effects and has limited clinical effects for some patients, thus significantly affecting patients’ quality of life. Studies have found acupuncture shows certain advantages in the treatment of TDs. However, there is no high level of evidence evaluating the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for children with TDs.Methods:Each data of acupuncture for treating TDs will be searched. We will search for related English and Chinese databases. The time is limited from inception until November 2020. The primary outcome is the reduction rate (amount) of tic severity using related scales or methods, and the secondary outcomes include recurrence rate and adverse events. The risk of bias will be assessed, and the RevMan5.3 and Stata14.0 will be performed for meta-analysis. Finally, we will assess the level of the resulting evidence.Results:The results of the study will synthesize the current evidence and be published in peer-reviewed journals.Conclusions:This research aims to provide convincing evidence of the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for treating TDs in children.INPLASY registration number:INPLASY2020110050.     

The effectiveness of different acupuncture therapies for neck pain: A protocol for systematic review and/or network meta-analysis

Background:Neck pain is common musculoskeletal disorders in adult population. Acupuncture treatment has been widely used for treating neck pain. Nevertheless, previous systematic reviews (SRs) on acupuncture for neck pain remain controversial, and there is no SR for the comparative efficacy and safety of various types of acupuncture. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate and rank the effectiveness and safety of different types of acupuncture for neck pain by SR and network meta-analysis.Methods:Nine databases will be searched, including Ovid-MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), KoreaMed, Korean medical database (KMBASE), Korean Studies Information Service System (KISS), ScienceON, and Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System (OASIS) from their inception to July 2021. The primary outcome is the change of pain intensity. A frequentist network meta-analysis will be performed to compare all relative outcomes of different acupuncture methods, using R software. The quality of included randomized controlled trials will be assessed by Cochrane Collaboration “risk of bias” tools and the evidence will be evaluated by the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation instrument.Results:The final findings of this network meta-analysis will be published in a recognized journal.Conclusions:Our study will evaluate and compare the effectiveness of various types of acupuncture for neck pain and provide clinicians with best option for what types of acupuncture treatments are effective.Trial registration number:INPLASY202120041     

Effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the most common respiratory disease in clinic. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) lung rehabilitation has gradually been valued in the field of prevention and treatment of COPD. Acupuncture, as an important part of TCM lung rehabilitation, is carried out in clinical extensively and application. It has the advantage of improving the symptoms and quality of life of COPD cases, but the evidence-based proof is limited.Methods:Eight databases will be systematically retrieved from their inceptions to December 2021. This study will include randomized controlled trials of acupuncture in the treatment of COPD with stable stage. The main outcome will include clinical effective rate, TCM symptom score, quality of life, dyspnea, exercise capacity, lung function, frequency of acute exacerbation, adverse events. Literature screening, quality evaluation and information extraction will be completed by two independent researchers. Revman 5.3 software will be used to perform meta-analysis. Assessment of multiple systematic reviews-2 tool will be used for evaluating the methodological quality of systematic review (SR), grading of recommendations assessment will for rating the quality of evidence, and consolidated standards of reporting trials and Standards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture tool will for assessing the reporting quality of randomized controlled trials.Results:The findings of this SR will be presented at relevant conferences and submitted for peer-review publication.Conclusions:The findings of this SR will provide up-to-date summary proof for evaluating the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for COPD.     

Acupuncture for nasal congestion in COVID-19: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:From the end of 2019 to now, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has put enormous strain on the world''s health systems, causing significant deaths and economic losses worldwide. Nasal congestion, one of the symptoms of COVID-19, poses considerable problems for patients. In China, acupuncture has been widely used to treat nasal congestion caused by COVID-19, but there is still a lack of evidence-based medical evaluation.Methods:According to the retrieval strategies, randomized controlled trials on the acupuncture for COVID-19 nasal congestion were obtained from China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang, VIP, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library, regardless of publication date, or language. Studies were screened based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the Cochrane risk bias assessment tool was used to evaluate the quality of the studies. The meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager (RevMan 5.3) and STATA 14.2 software. Ultimately, the evidentiary grade for the results will be evaluated.Results:The study will provide a high-quality and convincing assessment of the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of COVID-19''s nasal congestion and will be published in peer-reviewed journals.Conclusion:Our findings will provide references for future clinical decision and guidance development.PROSPERO registration number:NO.CRD42021299482.     

Acupuncture for diabetic neurogenic bladder: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Diabetic neurogenic bladder (DNB) is one of the common complications of diabetes mellitus, which has a high prevalence rate. Some research suggested that acupuncture can improve the clinical symptoms of diabetic neurogenic bladder patients, but there is no systematic review or meta-analysis to assess this therapy. Therefore, this study aims to explore the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for patients with DNB.Methods:In this study, we will search for electronic databases including the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE,China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wan-Fang, and Baidu Scholar Database from inception to December 2020. We will select randomized controlled trials that have been published in English or Chinese related to acupuncture for DNB. Selection of study, extraction of data, and assessment of study quality will be performed independently by 2 researchers, and we will use Revman 5.3 software which is provided by Cochrane assistance network, to perform the data analysis.Results:This study will provide evidence of the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for DNB.Conclusion:This study will clarify whether acupuncture is an effective treatment for DNB, and will also provide a reference for clinical practice and guidelines development.     

Efficacy of acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese medicine on chronic prostatitis: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Chronic prostatitis is a common andrological disease, which brings many troubles to the lives of middle-aged and elderly male patients. With the increase of modern life pressure, the incidence of chronic prostatitis tends to younger, but its etiology and pathogenesis are not fully elucidated. Which seriously affects men''s health? Relevant studies have shown that acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a good effect on the treatment of chronic prostatitis compared with conventional western medicine; however, there is no consistent conclusion at present. The main purpose of this study is to explore whether acupuncture combined with TCM is effective in treating chronic prostatitis.Methods:The collection of randomized controlled trials related to acupuncture and TCM for chronic prostatitis will search the following electronic databases, including: PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Database, EMBASE, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, Weipu. There are 8 electronic databases including the VIP Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database and the China Biomedical Literature Database. The cure rate and total effective rate are the main indicators, and the recurrence rate and adverse events are the secondary indicators. Meta-analysis using RevMan5.4 provided by Cochrane Collaboration.Results:This study will provide the latest evidence of efficacy for the acupuncture combined with TCM in the treatment of chronic prostatitis.Conclusion:The effectiveness of acupuncture combined with TCM for chronic prostatitis will be evaluated.Unique INPLASY number:INPLASY202130083.     

Umbilical acupuncture for insomnia: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Insomnia is characterized by high incidence, easy recurrence, and difficulty in curing. Serious insomnia not only seriously affects the body organ function but also causes great damage psychological.Umbilical acupuncture (UA) has fewer side effects and is increasingly used to treat insomnia. This study aimed to systematically review the effectiveness and safety of UA in the treatment of insomnia.Methods:Literature on UA for insomnia in PubMed, Excerpt Medica Database, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, China Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, and Wan Fang Database were searched from the creation of these databases to October 3, 2021. In addition, the reference lists of studies meeting the inclusion criteria will also be searched to achieve a comprehensive retrieval of the maximum. All randomized controlled trials of UA for treating insomnia were included. Two reviewers will conduct literature screening, data extraction, and quality evaluation respectively. The main outcome was the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and the secondary outcomes included clinical efficacy, and safety. RevMan 5.4.1 software was used for mate analysis.Results:This study aimed to evaluate the current status of UA treatment for insomnia, with the aim of illustrating the effectiveness and safety of UA.Conclusion:This study will provides a high-quality evidence to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of UA in treating insomnia.Registration:PROSPERO CRD42021283036.     

The acupuncture-related therapy for stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A protocol for systematic review and network meta-analysis

Background:Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has become a huge economic burden. Increasing randomized clinical trials have favored the efficacy of a specified kind of acupuncture-related therapies (ATs) for treating stable COPD. Nonetheless, comparative efficacy of different ATs for stable COPD remains unknown. Thus, the purpose of this network meta-analysis protocol aims to determine the optimal modality of ATs for treating stable COPD.Methods:Six Chinese and English mainstream databases, including PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, China Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang Database, will be systematically retrieved. The time range of the literature search is from the establishment date of each database to July, 2021. The primary outcome measures will be pulmonary function and incidence of acute exacerbations. The secondary outcome measures will consist of 6-minute walking distance, St George''s Respiratory Questionnaire, and COPD assessment test. The methodological quality of included studies will be evaluated by Cochrane risk-of-bias tool and the quality of evidence will evaluated through Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation instrument. Network meta-analysis will be completed using STATA software.Results:A synthesis of current evidence of ATs for stable COPD will be provided in this study.Conclusion:This study will contribute to synthesizing the evidence regarding the comparative efficacy of different modalities of ATs for stable COPD. Therefore, it will yield decision-making reference to further assist clinicians in determining the optimal modality of ATs in the treatment of stable COPD.Study Registration:This protocol was registered in the international prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO) with the registration number CRD42020166649.