Topical 0.05% clobetasol cream in the treatment of chronic hand eczema: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Chronic hand eczema (CHE) is a recurrent, frequently disabling skin condition that requires daily skin care to prevent transepidermal water loss, posing a significant burden of society and economy. In recent years, topical 0.05% clobetasol cream is widely used for the treatment of CHE for its efficacy, tolerability and safety. Whereas, no systematic review and meta-analysis has been updated up to now. Therefore, this work aims to assess the effectiveness and safety of topical 0.05% clobetasol cream in patients with CHE. METHODS: Study on topical 0.05% clobetasol cream for CHE will be searched from their inception to December, 2020 with the language restrictions of English and Chinese in 8 databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, the web of science, VIP, CNKI, CBM, and WAN FANG). According to the heterogeneity test, a fixed or random-effect model will be used to synthesize data. The primary outcome is the proportion of patients achieving more than 75% reduction in signs and symptoms according to the Hand Eczema Severity Index (HECSI). The secondary outcomes include: scored for 4 different characteristics of the lesions (redness, scaling, lichenification, and pruritus), QoL questionnaire, adverse events, and recurrence events. STATA 13.0 and Review Manager software 5.3 will be used for analysis and synthesis. Two or more reviewers will independently conduct the selection of studies, data extraction, and data analysis. RESULTS: The results of the study expect to provide a high-quality, evidence-based recommendation on topical 0.05% clobetasol cream in the treatment of CHE for clinicians. CONCLUSION: The study will provide scientific and useful evidence for better use of topical 0.05% clobetasol cream in treating CHE. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study is a protocol for an overview of SRs/MAs that did not involve individual data. Thus, ethical approval is not required. OSF REGISTRATION NUMBER: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/SPHVZ