Acupoint catgut embedding for patients with chronic urticaria: A systematic review protocol

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupoint catgut embedding in the treatment of chronic urticaria (CU). METHODS: We will electronically search PubMed, Medline, Embase, Web of Science, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, and Wan-Fang Database from their inception to March 2019. In addition, we will manually retrieve other resources including the reference lists of identified publications, conference articles, and gray literature. The clinical randomized controlled trials or quasi-randomized controlled trials related to acupoint catgut embedding for the treatment of CU will be included in the study. The language is limited to Chinese and English. Research selection, data extraction, and research quality assessment will be independently completed by 2 researchers. Data were synthesized by using a fixed effect model or random effect model depend on the heterogeneity test. The total effective rate was the primary outcomes. Skin disease quality of life index scores, adverse events, and recurrence rates will also be assessed as secondary outcomes. RevMan V.5.3 statistical software will be used for meta-analysis. If it is not appropriate for a meta-analysis, then a descriptive analysis will be conducted. Data synthesis will use the risk ratio and the standardized or weighted average difference of continuous data to represent the results. RESULTS: This study will provide a high-quality synthesis to assess the effectiveness and safety of acupoint catgut embedding for patients with CU. CONCLUSION: This systematic review will provide evidence to judge whether acupoint catgut embedding is an effective intervention for patients with CU. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO, CRD42019129459.