The efficacy and safety of Banxia-Houpo-Tang for chronic pharyngitis: A protocol for systematic review and meta analysis

BACKGROUND: Chronic pharyngitis is a common disease with a dry throat, sore throat, pharyngeal itching, dry cough, and difficulty in swallowing, bringing inconvenience to patients’ daily life. Banxia-Houpo-Tang (BHT) has proven to be effective in the treatment of chronic pharyngitis, yet its real extent is not well understood. To prove this point, we will perform a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of BHT for chronic pharyngitis. METHODS/DESIGN: We will search for electronic databases both English and Chinese from inception to December 2019. Two experienced researchers select the qualified articles from: The Cochrane Library, EBM Reviews, OVID, Web of Science, PubMed, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Academic Journal Network Publishing Database (CAJD), China Biomedical Literature database (CBM), VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals (VIP). Journal Integration Platform and WAN FANG Database. We select the appropriate searching language. The primary outcome was remission rate, and the secondary outcomes include clinical symptoms, clinical examination, adverse event. Data extraction and quality assessment will be conducted by 2 experienced researchers independently. Data analysis and the risk of bias assessment will be determined by RevMan 5.3 software. RESULTS: Based on the current proofs, we will get the exact evidence about the safety and effectiveness of BHT in the treatment of chronic pharyngitis. CONCLUSION: Our study is the first meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of BHT in the treatment of chronic pharyngitis, and it will provide evidence for alternative treatment for the management of chronic pharyngitis. OSF REGISTRATION NUMBER: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/QNF6X