Effectiveness of acupuncture for nocturia: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Nocturia is a common and highly troubled lower urinary tract symptom, which has a wide range of effects. About 33% of patients with lower urinary tract symptoms have been affected by nocturia. Nocturia is mainly manifested as the increase of urination frequency and urine volume at night. It has been proved that acupuncture can reduce the symptoms of nocturia and regulate bladder function in Western countries. Acupuncture may be a promising choice for the treatment of nocturia. METHODS: RCTs of acupuncture for nocturia will be searched in the relevant database, including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Wanfang Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, and Chinese Scientific Journal Database. The studies of electronic searches will be exported to EndNote V.9.1 software. We will run meta-analyses using the Review Manager (RevMan) V.5.3 software. Any disagreement will be solved in consultation with a third reviewer. RESULTS: Our study aims to explore the efficacy of acupuncture for nocturia and to provide up-to-date evidence for clinical of nocturia. CONCLUSION: The conclusion of this study will provide evidence for the efficacy of acupuncture treatment of nocturia. INPLASY REGISTRATION NUMBER: INPLASY202130100.