Effectiveness of respiratory muscle training for patients with obstructive sleep apnea: A protocol of systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: This study will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of respiratory muscle training (RMT) for patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). METHODS: Randomized controlled trials will be retrieved through electronic database searches from MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Scopus, CBM, and CNKI from the beginning to the present. All electronic databases will be searched without any language limitation. Two researchers will independently select studies, collect data, and assess study quality, respectively. RevMan 5.3 software will be used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The primary outcome is severity of OSA, as measured by polysomnography or any relevant tools. The secondary outcomes are hypopnea index, apnea index, respiratory event index, respiratory disturbance index, sleep-related quality of life, and any expected or unexpected adverse events. CONCLUSION: The results of this study will summarize current evidence of RMT for the treatment of patients with OSA. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: INPLASY202040051.