Effectiveness and safety of Liuhedan for treating cellulitis: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Liuhedan is a famous traditional Chinese Medicine formula used to treat cellulitis in China. However, there are no systematic reviews for the evidence and the therapeutic effectiveness and safety of Liuhedan for treating cellulitis. The aim of this study is to summarize previous evidence, assessing the efficacy and safety of Liuhedan treating cellulitis. METHODS: We will search the EMBASE, WANFANG DATA, Web of Knowledge, CNKI, PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Cochrane Library from inception to June 30, 2021 to retrieve relevant studies using the search strategy: (“Liuhedan” OR “Liuhe Pill” OR “Liu-He-Dan”) AND (“cellulitis” OR “phlegmon” OR “skin and soft tissue infection” OR “skin tissue infection” OR “soft tissue infection”). Two authors independently judged study eligibility and extracted data. Heterogeneity will be examined by computing the Q statistic and I(2) statistic. RESULTS: This study assessed the efficiency and safety of Liuhedan for treating cellulitis. CONCLUSIONS: This study will provide reliable evidence-based evidence for the clinical application of Liuhedan for treating cellulitis. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval is unnecessary as this protocol is only for systematic review and does not involve privacy data. The findings of this study will be disseminated electronically through a peer-review publication or presented at a relevant conference.