Efficacy and safety of bloodletting for herpes zoster: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of bloodletting therapy for herpes zoster. METHODS: The following electronic databases will be searched from PubMed (1966 to March 2020), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (update to March 2020), EMBASE (1980 to March 2020), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (1979 to March 2020), Wan Fang Data (1980 to March 2020), Chinese Scientific Journal Database (1989 to March 2020), Chinese Biomedical Database (1978 to March 2020) and traditional Chinese medicine Literature Analysis and Retrieval Database (1949 to March 2020). All randomized controlled trials without any limitation of blinding or publication language about this topic will be included, exclude cohort studies and case reports. Two independent researchers will operate article retrieval, duplication removing, screening, quality evaluation, and data analyses by Review Manager (V.5.3.5). Meta-analyses, subgroup analysis, and/or descriptive analysis will be performed based on the included data conditions. RESULTS: High-quality synthesis and/or descriptive analysis of current evidence will be provided from cure rate, converting to clinical diagnosis rate, and side effects of bloodletting. CONCLUSION: This study will provide the evidence of whether bloodletting is an effective and safe intervention for herpes zoster. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020171976