Herbal medicine for the management of idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia: A protocol for a systematic review of controlled trials

BACKGROUND: Trigeminal neuralgia is an oral facial pain that is limited to one or more parts of the trigeminal nerve. As it becomes chronic, it can seriously affect the quality of life of most patients, and it is expected to increase in incidence in modern aging society. The objective of this systematic review protocol is to provide methods for evaluating the effectiveness and safety of herbal medicines for idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia (ITN). METHODS: A total of 14 databases will be searched for studies uploaded from inception to the present date that investigated the treatment of ITN. These databases are MEDLINE, EMBASE, AMED, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Cochrane Library, PsycARTICLES, four Korean databases, two Chinese databases, and two Japanese databases. We will include randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing herbal medicine decoctions used to treat any type of ITN. All RCTs of decoctions or modified decoctions with any type of form of herbal medicine will be eligible for inclusion. 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: The results of 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. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO CRD42020129667.