Acupuncture for discomfort in patients during gastroscopy: a systematic review protocol

INTRODUCTION: This systematic review aims to assess the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for discomfort in patients during gastroscopy. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Randomised controlled trials will be searched electronically in several databases including OVID MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), Chinese Medical Current Content (CMCC), Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP database), Wan-Fang Database and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) from their respective founding dates to 30 April 2014. We will also try to find the literature by manually searching conference abstracts and reference lists. The study selection, extraction of data and assessment of study quality will be conducted independently by two researchers. Meta-analysis will be performed using RevMan V.5.2 statistical software. Data will be combined with either the fixed or random effect model based on a heterogeneity test. The results will be presented as a risk ratio for dichotomous data and standardised mean difference for continuous data. DISSEMINATION: This systematic review will evaluate the current evidence of acupuncture therapy for discomfort in patients during gastroscopy. The findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication or conference presentations. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO CRD42014008966.