Acupuncture combined with SSRIs in the treatment of perimenopausal depressive disorder: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Perimenopausal depressive disorder (PDD) is an affective disorder involving endocrine, neurological, immune, which seriously endangers the physical and mental health of human. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the current first-line clinical treatment, have limited efficacy and serious side effects. Acupuncture combined with SSRIs therapy has been widely used clinically because it increases efficacy and reduces side effects. There is a lack of high-quality evidence to assess its efficacy and safety. This study evaluated the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture combined with SSRIs in the treatment of PDD by meta-analysis. METHODS: All randomized controlled trials articles about acupuncture combined with SSRIs treatment of PDD will be searched in databases, such as PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wan Fang, Wei Pu from the construction of the library to December 16, 2021. According to Cochrane 5.1 Handbook criteria, two researchers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and evaluated the quality of included studies. Meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.4 and STATA 16.0 software. RESULTS: This study will summarize the current evidence to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture combined with SSRIs for the treatment of PDD. CONCLUSION: The results of this study will provide clinicians with new treatment ideas and bring benefits to most patients. REGISTRATION NUMBER: INPLASY2021120080 (DOI number: 10.37766/inplasy2021.12.0080).