Warming yang method in traditional Chinese medicine for depression: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Depression is a chronic psychological disease with low emotion, interest, cognition, thinking and disorder of physiological function, even numbness, or hallucination, delusion and other psychotic symptoms. Traditonal Chinese medicine plays an important role in the treatment of mental diseases in China and East Asia. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy and safety of warming yang method in traditional Chinese medicine for depression. METHODS: We search the following databases: PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Chinese Science and Technique Journals Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Excerpt Medica Database, MEDLINE, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, and the Wanfang Database. Other sources will also be searched like Google Scholar and gray literatures. All databases mentioned above are searched from the start date to November 2020. Randomised controlled trials will be included which recruiting depression participants to assess the efficacy and safety of warming yang method in traditional Chinese medicines against controls (placebo or other therapeutic agents). Primary outcomes will include the reduction ratio of Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and security index. Secondary outcomes include the Yang deficiency improves. Two authors will independently scan the searched articles, extract the data from attached articles and import them into Endnote X8 and use Microsoft Excel 2013 to manage data and information. We will assess the risk of bias by Cochrane tool of risk of bias. Disagreements will be resolved by consensus or the participation of a third party. All analysis will be performed based on the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. The meta-analysis in this review will use RevMan 5.3 software. RESULTS: The study is aim to evaluate the efficacy and safety of warming yang method in traditional Chinese medicine for depression. CONCLUSION: This study of the meta-analysis could provide evidence for clinicians and help patients to make a better choice. INPLASY REGISTRATION NUMBER: INPLASY2020110129