Moxibustion for treating patients with hyperlipidemia: A systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

BACKGROUND: Hyperlipidemia has been a root cause of atherosclerosis, which leads to a high risk to serious cardio-cerebrovascular disease. Many trials have reported that moxibustion therapy is effective in lowering blood lipid levels when treating hyperlipidemia. The aim of this systematic review is to assess the effectiveness and safety of moxibustion therapy for hyperlipidemia. METHODS: Two reviewers will electronically search the following databases: the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL); PubMed; EMBASE; China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI); Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM); Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP database); and Wan-Fang Database from the inception, without restriction of publication status and languages. Additional searching including researches in progress, the reference lists and the citation lists of identified publications. Study selection, data extraction, and assessment of study quality will be performed independently by 2 reviewers. Changes of blood lipid levels from baseline to the end of the treatment, including low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level, total cholesterol (TC) level, triglycerides (TG) level and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level will be assessed as the primary outcomes. Quality of life, long-term effect and safety will be evaluated as secondary outcomes. If it is appropriate for a meta-analysis, RevMan 5.3 statistical software will be used; otherwise, a descriptive analysis will be conducted. Data will be synthesized by either the fixed-effects or random-effects model according to a heterogeneity test. The results will be presented as risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for dichotomous data and weight mean difference (WMD) or standard mean difference (SMD) 95% CIs for continuous data. RESULTS: This study will provide a comprehensive review of the available evidence for the treatment of moxibustion with hyperlipidemia. CONCLUSIONS: The conclusions of our study will provide an evidence to judge whether moxibustion is an effective and safe intervention for patients with hyperlipidemia. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This systematic review will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal or presented at relevant conferences. It is not necessary for a formal ethical approval because the data are not individualized. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO CRD42019130545.