Efficacy and safety of oral traditional Chinese patent medicine for chronic cerebral circulation insufficiency patients: A protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Chronic cerebral circulation insufficiency (CCCI) is a common clinical cerebrovascular disease, especially among middle-aged and elderly patients, which seriously endangers their quality of life and physical and mental health. At present, Oral traditional Chinese patent medicine (OTCPM) is widely used in the treatment of CCCI in China, but its actual efficacy and safety lack of evidence-based evidence. Therefore, we will screen out the most effective OTCPM through a systematic review and network meta-analysis to provide a reliable theoretical basis for clinical decisions. METHODS: We will search electronic databases to collect relevant RCT studies from inception to October 2019. Those electronic databases include PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, EMBASE, China Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP), and Wan-fang database. Only randomized clinical trials (RCTs) concerned any OTCPM treatments for CCCI will be collected. The included studies will no restrictions on language or publication year. There were no publication year or language for the included literature. Risk bias tools will assess the quality of the included literature. A Bayesian NMA will be performed to combine the direct and indirect comparisons of TCPMs interventions. The surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) will be drawn to display the hierarchy of each TCPMs treatment. All statistical analyses will be implemented using R v3.5.2. and GeMTC v1.4.3. We will publish this systematic review in academic journals. Since this literature review will not involve directly contacting patients, ethical approval and informed consent are not required. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42019123878.