Effectiveness and safety of warm needle acupuncture for sciatica: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Sciatica is a syndrome characterized by sciatic nerve path and distribution area pain. Many kinds of literature reported the definite effect of warm needle acupuncture (WNA) on sciatica. However, there is no systematic review or meta-analysis on WNA for sciatica. Therefore, this study will design a protocol to comprehensively and systematically evaluate the effectiveness and safety of WNA on sciatica.Methods:The two researchers in this study will search the electronic database for randomized controlled trials, (RCTs) of WNA on sciatica, The databases we will search include PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Chinese national knowledge infrastructure (CNKI), China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), Wanfang Database, and Chinese biomedical literature database (CBM). Review Manager 5.4 software and Cochrane risk bias tool will be us used for data analysis and to evaluate research quality. The main clinical indicators will include visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI).Results:This study will evaluate the efficacy and safety of WNA for sciatica.Conclusion:This study will provide a reliable scheme for objectively and comprehensively evaluating the efficacy and safety of WNA on sciatica.Trial registration number:INPLASY2020110074     

Efficacy of acupuncture for melasma: A protocol of systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Melasma is a common acquired hyperpigmentation of the skin. The clinical manifestations are light brown or dark brown patches symmetrically distributed on the cheeks, forehead, and mandibular with different shades and unclear borders. The treatment of melasma is extremely challenging due to its easy relapse and hard to cure. As a classical method of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture has been used to treat melasma in clinical practice. However, there is no systematic review and meta-analysis of acupuncture on melasma. This study aims to assess the efficacy of acupuncture for melasma.Methods:We will perform a comprehensive retrieval in the following electronic databases: PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wan Fang Database, VIP database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Service System (SinoMed), Chinese Biomedicine (CBM) database, and TCM Literature Analysis from inception to July 1, 2021, to identify any eligible study. We include all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) without any limitation of blinding or publication language, and exclude cohort studies and case reports. The meta-analyses will be conducted by using the Stata16. We will use the Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomized trials to assess the risk of bias of included studies. The X² and I² tests will be utilized to assess the statistical heterogeneity of evidence. We will conduct a meta-analysis if the studies can be combined. Otherwise, a narrative synthesis will be performed. Article screening and data extraction will be independently evaluated by 2 reviewers trained in methodology according to the established selection criteria. Any disagreements between the 2 reviewers will be resolved by reaching a consensus with the other authors (the third reviewer).Results:This study will systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy of acupuncture for melasma.Conclusion:The conclusion of this study will provide evidence to ensure the efficacy of acupuncture for melasma, so as to provide an objective and scientific basis for clinical practice.Ethics and dissemination:No ethical approval will be required because the data used are not linked to individual patient. The results of this review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.Registration number:INPLASY2021110097.     

Effectiveness and safety of fire needle for knee osteoarthritis: A protocol of systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:There is a lack of curative medical treatment for patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Acupuncture represents an important alternative therapy. In various forms of acupuncture and moxibustion, the fire needle is an indispensable part. Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a series of symptoms and signs of knee joint caused by local injury and inflammation and chronic strain of the knee joint resulting in cartilage degeneration of the articular surface and reactive bone loss of the subchondral bone plate. The results of clinical trial indicated that the fire needle therapy has obvious curative effect in treating KOA. This protocol is intended to describe how to collate and accumulate evidence for the current efficient and safe treatment of KOA with fire needle.Methods:Seven electronic databases were used to retrieve the literature for the KOA randomized controlled trials, including 3 English databases (PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials [Cochrane Library]), and 4 Chinese databases (Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese VIP Information, Wanfang Database, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database). This systematic review will include all randomized controlled clinical trials using fire needle therapy for KOA. The observation Index is the Change of Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index Total, first proposed by Bellamy in 1988. The selection of the study will be completed independently by 2 reviewers, extract the data, and evaluate the quality of the study before selecting the title, abstract, and full text. Revman 5.4 software will be used to perform meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials, where risk ratios for dichotomous data and standardized or weighted mean differences for continuous data are the results.Result:The results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.Conclusion:This systematic review will provide the latest evidence to evaluate the safety and efficacy of fire needle therapy in patients with KOA.Trial registration number:INPLASY202080030     

Effectiveness of acupuncture for nocturia: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Nocturia is a common and highly troubled lower urinary tract symptom, which has a wide range of effects. About 33% of patients with lower urinary tract symptoms have been affected by nocturia. Nocturia is mainly manifested as the increase of urination frequency and urine volume at night. It has been proved that acupuncture can reduce the symptoms of nocturia and regulate bladder function in Western countries. Acupuncture may be a promising choice for the treatment of nocturia.Methods:RCTs of acupuncture for nocturia will be searched in the relevant database, including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Wanfang Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, and Chinese Scientific Journal Database. The studies of electronic searches will be exported to EndNote V.9.1 software. We will run meta-analyses using the Review Manager (RevMan) V.5.3 software. Any disagreement will be solved in consultation with a third reviewer.Results:Our study aims to explore the efficacy of acupuncture for nocturia and to provide up-to-date evidence for clinical of nocturia.Conclusion:The conclusion of this study will provide evidence for the efficacy of acupuncture treatment of nocturia.INPLASY registration number:INPLASY202130100.     

Efficacy of acupuncture for whiplash injury: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Studies in both Eastern & Western countries such as the United States and Europe have evaluated the efficacy of acupuncture for whiplash injury or whiplash-associated disorder (WAD). However, no systematic reviews on the effectiveness of acupuncture on WAD have been conducted since 2014. Therefore, we are planning an updated systematic review of studies published since 2014 to overcome the limitations of existing evidence.Methods:Literature will be identified from searches of relevant databases, including international databases such as PubMed, Ovid-Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Korean databases such as Korea Med, Korean Studies Information Service System, Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System, and National Digital Science Library. Only randomized controlled trials using acupuncture or electro-acupuncture for whiplash injury will be included. The primary outcomes will be the visual analog scale or numerical rating scale of the neck pain, while the secondary outcome is the range of motion of the neck. The risk of bias for individual papers will be assessed by two independent investigators using the Cochrane “Risk of Bias” assessment tool.Dissemination:We plan to report the results of the study in a peer-reviewed journal after completing the research. In addition, we expect this study to provide invaluable information to clinicians treating patients with WAD with acupuncture or electro-acupuncture.Trial registration number:PROSPERO 2021: CRD42021261595. Registered on 18 July 2021. https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=261595     

Efficacy and safety of abdominal acupuncture for knee osteoarthritis: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a disease based on degenerative pathological changes. Most commonly seen in the elderly and is one of Kenn''s leading causes, its symptoms include swollen knees, pain in walking up and downstairs. If left untreated, it can lead to joint deformity and disability. Many clinical studies have reported that abdominal acupuncture has a good effect on KOA treatment, but there is no relevant systematic review. So the purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of abdominal acupuncture in treating KOA.Methods:The following 8 electronic databases will be searched, including PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Web of Science, Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP), Wanfang Database, and Chinese Biomedical Literatures Database (CBM) from their inception to November 1, 2020 without any restrictions. Researchers retrieve the literature and extracted the data, evaluation of research methods, quality of literature. The outcomes will include a Visual Analogue Scale. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, total effective rate, incidence of any adverse events. We use the Cochrane Risk of a bias assessment tool to evaluate methodological qualities. Data synthesis will be completed by RevMan 5.3.0.Results:We will show the results of this study in a peer-reviewed journal.Conclusions:This meta-analysis will provide reliable evidence for abdominal acupuncture treatment of KOA.INPLASY registration number:INPLASY2020110020.     

The study on the clinical effectiveness and safety of traditional Chinese medicine acupoint catgut embedding guided by musculoskeletal ultrasound in the treatment of nerve root sciatica: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Background:Nerve root sciatica (NRS) is a common orthopedic disease, which usually occurs between 20 and 40 years of age, and the incidence rate is increasing year by year and is being younger. The disease has no special effect of treatment, clinically generally taking the symptomatic treatment, such as taking short-term glucocorticoids, sedatives, analgesics, and so on. Long-term use of drugs will adversely affect the patient''s gastrointestinal tract, liver, and kidney function. The surgical treatment has a high risk of surgery, high cost, side effects, and other problems, so the choice of treatment method has always been a difficult problem in clinical and scientific research. The study shows that 90% of patients with sciatica can be cured by non-surgical treatment, so conservative therapy is often used in the treatment of sciatica, traditional Chinese medicine treatment methods in the treatment of NRS has been widely used, which has achieved good results, but there is no evidence of evidence-based medicine. Therefore, this study uses systematic evaluation to conduct the scientific evaluation of the clinical effectiveness and safety of traditional Chinese medicine acupoint catgut embedding guided by musculoskeletal ultrasound in the treatment of NRS, and provide evidence-based medical evidence support for the treatment of NRS.Methods:Using the computer to retrieve the PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, VIP, WANFANG Database, and CBM. Using the subject words and terminology words to retrieve the Chinese-English database and retrieve a randomized controlled study on the clinical effectiveness and safety of traditional Chinese medicine acupoint catgut embedding guided by musculoskeletal ultrasound in the treatment of NRS, and the range of search time is January 1990 to January 2021. The searched literature is screened and evaluated by two researchers respectively according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. If there is disagreement, discussing it with the third researcher to determine the final inclusion of the literature. Using the RevMan 5.3 software to conduct the meta-analysis.Results:This study will compare the effectiveness and safety of traditional Chinese medicine acupoint catgut embedding guided by musculoskeletal ultrasound in the treatment of NRS.Conclusion:The results of this study will be published in internationally influential academic journals to provide evidence-based medical evidence for the clinical effectiveness and safety of traditional Chinese medicine acupoint catgut embedding in the treatment of NRS.Ethics and dissemination:This study does not involve specific patients, and all research data comes from publicly available professional literature, so an ethics committee is not required to conduct an ethical review and approval of the study.OSF registration number:DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/Q492E.     

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     

Effectiveness of acupuncture for asthenozoospermia: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:According to the World Health Organization, the global incidence of infertility is about 15%, and more than 50% of infertility cases are caused by male infertility. Asthenozoospermia is caused by male fertility decline and male infertility. Due to work pressure, environmental pollution, sexual diseases, and other factors, the number of patients with asthenozoospermia has increased in recent years. It has been confirmed that acupuncture has a certain effect on patients with asthenozoospermia. Acupuncture and moxibustion can be an adjuvant treatment plan for the treatment of asthenozoospermia in addition to drug treatment.Methods:Randomized controlled trials of acupuncture for asthenozoospermia will be searched in the relevant database, including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), and Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP database). The studies of electronic searches will be exported to EndNote V.9.1 software. We will run meta-analyses using the Review Manager (RevMan) V.5.3 software. Any disagreements will be solved in consultation with a third reviewer.Results:Our study aims to explore the efficacy of acupuncture for asthenozoospermia and to provide up-to-date evidence for clinical of asthenozoospermia.Conclusion:This study will perform a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis on the efficacy of acupuncture for asthenozoospermia, making up for the lack of relevant evidence of the clinical use of acupuncture.INPLASY registration number:INPLASY 202140032.     

Efficacy and safety of vernakalant for cardioversion of recent-onset atrial fibrillation: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common tachyarrhythmia encountered in clinical practice and is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of vernakalant for cardioversion of recent-onset AF.Methods:A comprehensive systematic literature search will be conducted in Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about the vernakalant with AF. Two reviewers will independently assess the quality of the selected studies according to the Cochrane Collaboration''s tool for RCTs. The bias risk of the RCT will be assessed by the Cochrane risk of bias (ROB) tool. The quality of the evidence will be evaluated by Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system. Results from these questions will be graphed and assessed using Review Manager 5.3.Results:The results of this meta-analysis will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.Conclusion:This review will evaluate the safety and efficacy of vernakalant for patients with AF, provide more recommendations for patients or researchers, and high-level evidence for clinical decision-making.     

Effectiveness comparisons of Chinese patent medicine on sciatica: A protocol for systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis

Background:Sciatica is one of the common clinical diseases. Studies have proved the efficacy of Chinese patent medicine (CPM) in the treatment of sciatica, so far, there has not been a complete systematic review of its effectiveness and safety, and the comparative efficacy and safety of CPM have not been ranked. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the efficacy and safety of these CPM by means of systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA), and to compare them in order.Methods:We will search PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMbase, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, CBM and other databases for RCTs of CPM in the treatment of sciatica, (database established until December 30, 2020). In addition, we will manually search the “Pharmaceutical Information”, “National Essential Drug List”, “Chinese Pharmacopoeia”, etc. to inquire about drug instructions, and screen the market circulation and clinically commonly used CPM. We will use RevMan software, gemtc package, GeMTC software for statistical analysis, and draw the surface under cumulative ranking area (SUCRA) to predict the order of curative effect of treatment measures.Results:Our study will compare and evaluate the effectiveness of CPM in the treatment of sciatica, and rank different CPM. The outcome indicators will include clinical efficacy, pain degree, lumbar spine function and adverse events.Conclusion:Our research will provide support for clinical practice.INPLASY registration number:INPLASY2020110073.     

Efficacy and safety of warm needle acupuncture in knee osteoarthritis: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a chronic disease, which is also recognized as a common disease affecting the elderly. However, the application of Western medicine is limited in clinical because of its obvious adverse reactions. Warm needle acupuncture (WNA) has a long history in the treatment of KOA and is widely used in Chinese. Here we will submit a protocol to evaluate the efficacy and safety of WNA in the treatment of KOA.Methods:We will search 5 English databases (PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science), 4 Chinese databases [China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Biology Medicine, Chinese Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), and Wanfang database] and grey literature for randomized controlled trials of WNA in the treatment of KOA. The primary outcome measure is Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC), and the secondary outcome will include degree of knee flexion and adverse events caused by WNA, such as dizziness, nausea, abdominal pain, arrhythmia, etc. The selection of the literatures will be conducted by endnote X7 software, and we will use Review Manger V.5.3 software to conduct the meta-analysis.Results:This study will provide reliable evidence for WNA in the treatment of KAO.Conclusion:The conclusion of this study will testify the efficacy and safety of WNA in the treatment of KAO.Registration:OSF Preregistration. 2020, October 11; osf.io/bu5qw     

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.     

Effectiveness of acupuncture for multiple sclerosis: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease characterized by white matter inflammatory demyelination in the central nervous system (CNS). Its clinical manifestations include decreased vision, diplopia, and limb weakness. As a green and simple traditional Chinese medicine method, acupuncture is gradually recognized by the public. At present, there is still a lack of systematic evaluation on acupuncture treatment of MS. This study aims to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of MS, in order to provide a basis for clinical decision-making.Methods:Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture for MS will be searched in the relevant database, including PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI), WanFang Database, China Biology Medicine Database (CBM), Chinese Scientific Journals Database (VIP), regardless of publication date, or language. All relevant RCTs of electronic searches will be exported to EndNote X9.1 software. Data analysis will be performed using RevMan 5.4 and STATA 14.2 software.Results:Our study aims to explore the efficacy of acupuncture for MS and to provide up-to-date evidence for clinical of MS. We will publish our research results in peer review journals.Conclusion:This study will perform a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis on the efficacy of acupuncture for MS, making up for the lack of relevant evidence of the clinical use of acupuncture.     

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     

Salvia miltiorrhiza improves type 2 diabetes: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Diabetes refers to any group of metabolic diseases characterized by high blood sugar and generally thought to be caused by insufficient production of insulin, impaired response to insulin. Globally, patients with type 2 diabetes account for more than 85% of the total diabetic patients, and due to factors, such as obesity, aging, environment and lifestyle, the incidence of diabetes is rising. Salvia miltiorrhiza (SM) is a medicine used to treat diabetes in China. In recent years, it has been reported that SM has the effect of improving type 2 diabetes. However, there is no systematic review of its efficacy and safety yet. Therefore, we propose a systematic review to evaluate the efficacy and safety of SM for T2D.Methods:Six databases will be searched: China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Biological Medicine (CBM), China Scientific Journals Database (CSJD), Wanfang database, PubMed, and EMBASE. The information is searched from January 2010 to July 2020. Languages are limited to English and Chinese. The primary outcomes include 2 hour plasma glucose, fasting plasma glucose, hemoglobin A1c, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, and fasting plasma insulin. The secondary outcomes include clinical efficacy and adverse events.Results:This systematic review will evaluate the efficacy and safety of Salvia miltiorrhiza in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.Conclusion:This systematic review provides evidence as to whether Salvia miltiorrhiza is effective and safe for type 2 diabetes.Ethics:Ethical approval is not necessary as this protocol is only for systematic review and does not involve in privacy data or an animal experiment.Systematic review registration:INPLASY2020110046.     

Efficacy and safety of acupuncture for senile insomnia: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Senile insomnia seriously affects the quality of life of the elderly. With the increase of the proportion of insomnia in the elderly, compared with the elderly with normal sleep quality, the elderly with long-term insomnia are more likely to have dizziness, fatigue, and decreased immunity. Acupuncture has shown good effects in the treatment of insomnia. At present, there is a lack of systematic review on acupuncture in the treatment of senile insomnia. We conduct this study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of senile insomnia.Methods:We will search Chinese and English databases: China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Scientific and Journal Database, Wan Fang database (Wanfang), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library to identify articles of randomized clinical trials of acupuncture for senile insomnia. All above electronic databases will be searched from inception to September 1, 2021. RevMan 5.3 software will be used to conduct this systematic review.Results:The study will prove the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for senile insomnia.Conclusion:We plan to submit this systematic review to a peer-reviewed journal.INPLASY registration number:INPLASY202160106.     

Acupuncture for oligospermia and asthenozoospermia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Acupuncture is widely used for oligospermia and asthenozoospermia in China, but its effect is unclear. We aimed to determine the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture in treating oligospermia and asthenozoospermia.Methods:An electronic search for randomized controlled trials evaluating acupuncture treatment in patients with oligospermia and asthenozoospermia published from database inception to October 2018 was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, the Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP Database), the Wan-Fang Database, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure and the Cochrane Library. We established search terms related to 3 areas (oligospermia, asthenozoospermia, and acupuncture). Two authors independently screened all identified citations and extracted the data. The methodological quality of the included trials was assessed using the Cochrane criteria.Results:Seven studies with a total of 527 subjects were screened according to inclusion and exclusion standards, and most of the studies had significant methodological weaknesses. Seven randomized controlled trials tested the effects of acupuncture compared with placebo acupuncture and conventional medications in patients with oligospermia and asthenozoospermia. The results of this study suggest that acupuncture alone has no clear superiority in improving sperm motility (standard mean difference [SMD] = 1.13, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −0.64 to 2.89), the sperm concentration (SMD = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.27–0.92) or semen volume compared with placebo acupuncture. No significant difference was found between acupuncture alone and conventional medications in improving sperm motility (SMD = −0.53, 95% CI: −2.54 to 1.48), the sperm concentration (SMD = −1.10, 95% CI: −1.48 to −0.72) or semen volume. However, adjuvant acupuncture may enhance the effect of medications on improving sperm motility (SMD = 4.10, 95% CI: 1.09–7.12) and the sperm concentration (SMD = 1.07, 95% CI: 0.739–1.40), but the study heterogeneity was too high to establish robust conclusions.Conclusion:These results suggest that the current evidence does not support acupuncture as an effective treatment for oligospermia and asthenozoospermia; therefore, acupuncture is not currently recommended as a treatment for these conditions. However, owing to the high risk of bias among the included studies, the evidence is limited, and more large-scale, high-quality clinical trials are needed in the future.Trial registration number:PROSPERO CRD42018083885