Pharmacopuncture for the management of musculoskeletal diseases: A protocol for systematic review

BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal disorders are the main reason for people to seek counseling and use of complementary and alternative medicine. Although pharmacopuncture is used to treat various diseases in traditional medicine, it is most often applied to treat musculoskeletal conditions. Here, we will review systematically the clinical evidence for the effectiveness and safety of pharmacopuncture for musculoskeletal diseases. METHODS: A total of 13 databases will be searched for studies uploaded from January 2014 to December 2018 that investigated the treatment of musculoskeletal diseases. These databases are MEDLINE, EMBASE, AMED, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, 4 Korean databases, 2 Chinese database, and 2 Japanese databases. The methodological quality of randomized controlled trials will be analyzed using the Cochrane Collaboration tool to assess risk of bias, and the confidence in the cumulative evidence will be assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) instrument. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and disseminated electronically and in print. To inform and guide healthcare practices, the review will be updated. REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42019148795.