Safety and efficacy of acupuncture for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A systematic review protocol

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common chronic respiratory disease with increasing morbidity and mortality that cause huge social and economic loss. Although recommended by guidelines, pulmonary rehabilitation has not been widely applied in clinics because of its inherent limitations. Acupuncture therapy (AT) as one of the most popular treatments in traditional Chinese medicine has been used to treat COPD. We aim to evaluate the safety and efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of COPD. METHODS: Web of science, PubMed, Springer, Medline, Cochrane Library, EBASE, WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP), China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI), Wan Fang Database, Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP), and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database will be searched from their inception to May 10, 2019. Randomized controlled trials that evaluated the safety and efficacy of acupuncture for the treatment on patients with COPD will be included. The primary outcome measures will include Dyspnea scores, lung function and blood eosinophils. The secondary outcome measures will include St George's Respiratory Questionnaire and 6-minute walk distance. Study selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment will be independently undertaken, respectively. Statistical analysis will be conducted by RevMan software (version 5.3). RESULTS: This study will provide high-quality synthesis based on current evidence of acupuncture treatment for COPD in several aspects, including symptom score, quality of life score, side effects and laboratory examination, such as lung function text, blood eosinophils (EOS) etc. CONCLUSION: The results of this study will provide updated evidence for weather acupuncture is an effective and safe intervention for COPD. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: It is not necessary for this systematic review to acquire an ethical approval. This review will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal or conference presentation. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO CRD42019136087.