The efficacy of Chinese patent medicine combined with entecavir for the treatment of chronic HBV-related liver fibrosis or cirrhosis: Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials or prospective cohort studies

BACKGROUND: There are currently no FDA-approved biological or chemical drugs for the treatment of HBV-related liver fibrosis or cirrhosis. Some Chinese patent medicines have proven to be effective in this area. OBJECTIVE: The network meta-analysis (NMA) is to evaluate whether entecavir combined with Chinese patent medicine, such as “fuzhenghuayu capsules,” “anluohuaxian pills,” “fufangbiejiaruangan tablets,” shows superior efficiency compared with entecavir alone for the treatment of chronic HBV-related liver fibrosis or cirrhosis. To evaluate which Chinese patent medicine is the most effective at improving liver fibrosis or cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis B-infected patients? METHODS: Registration of protocol: the protocol was published in the PROSPERO database (identification number: CRD42018112547). We will search PubMed, EMbase, Medline, Cochrane, China Network Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or “prospective cohort studies” of “fuzhenghuayu capsules,” “anluohuaxian pills,” ”fufangbiejiaruangan tablets” respectively combined with entecavir in the treatment of chronic HBV-related liver fibrosis or cirrhosis from their inception to September 30, 2018. R 3.3.3 and GeMTC 0.14.3 software will be used for data analysis.