Comparative efficacy and safety of different drugs for bipolar disorder complicated with anxiety disorder: A protocol for systematic review and network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, there are some randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to explore the effectiveness of drug therapy for bipolar disorder with anxiety disorders. However, due to lack of sufficient data, there are currently no good treatment recommendations. The purpose of this network meta-analysis is to compare the efficacy and safety of different drugs for bipolar disorder complicated with anxiety disorders to provide evidence to support clinical practice and guidelines development. METHODS: A systematic literature search will be performed in the Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science from inception to July 2020. RCTs that compared the efficacy and safety of different drugs for bipolar disorder complicated with anxiety disorders will be included. Two reviewers will independently search and select the studies, extract the data, and assess the risk of bias. We will assess the risk of bias of included RCTs using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. The WinBUGS 1.4.3 software will be used to perform the network meta-analysis, and the result figures will be generated by STATA 15.0 software. In addition, we will use the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) to assess the quality of evidence. RESULTS: This study will systematically compare the efficacy and safety of different drugs for bipolar disorder complicated with anxiety disorders. The results of this network meta-analysis will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication. CONCLUSION: Our study will provide evidence for the drug therapy of patients with bipolar disorder complicated with anxiety disorders, and provide suggestions for clinical practice or guidelines. INPLASY REGISTRATION NUMBER: INPLASY202070132.