Efficacy and safety of heat-sensitive moxibustion in the treatment of neurogenic bladder after spinal cord injury: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the most disabling and destructive neurological diseases. Neurogenic bladder dysfunction (NBD) is one of the serious complications after SCI, 80% of patients after SCI will have neurogenic bladder symptoms. NBD after SCI may lead to urinary retention, urinary incontinence, and urinary tract infection. In severe cases, it can lead to renal failure or even death. NBD after SCI not only seriously affects the patient's quality of life but also physical and mental health. NBD after SCI is a social and medical problem. In recent years, more and more clinical studies prove that heat-sensitive can improve the clinical symptoms of NBD after SCI. Therefore, this article conducts a systematic evaluation and meta-analysis on the efficacy and safety of heat-sensitive moxibustion in treating NBD after SCI. METHODS: Search 8 electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, Clinical Trials, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Science and Technology Journal Database, Wanfang Database, and China Biomedical Literature Database. We will search above electronic databases from the inception to May 2021, without any language restriction. Clinical randomized controlled trials containing heat-sensitive moxibustion for NBD after SCI and eligible interventions(s) and outcome(s) were included, with no limitation of language and publication status. Two researchers will independently conduct literature search, screening, information extraction, quality assessment, and data analysis. Review Manager 5.3 software will be used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The findings will be submitted to a peer-reviewed publication. CONCLUSION: This systematic review and meta-analysis will provide a standard clinical decision-making guideline for heat-sensitive moxibustion treatment of NBD after SCI. INPLASY REGISTRATION NUMBER: INPLASY202150071.