The effect of acupuncture on postpartum stress urinary incontinence: A protocol for systemic review and meta-analysis

Postpartum stress urinary incontinence (PSUI) is a widespread complaint in postpartum women, which significantly affects their quality of life. Acupuncture has been widely used as an alternative complementary therapy for the treatment of PSUI. This protocol is carried out to comprehensively explore the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for treating PSUI. METHODS: Randomized clinical trials related to acupuncture treatment of PSUI will be searched in Chinese and English literature databases: PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Wanfang Database, and the Technology Periodical Database. Changes in pelvic floor muscle strength compared with baseline will be accepted as the primary outcomes, and secondary outcomes will be the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form score, the urodynamic indexes, the incontinence quality of life questionnaire, and adverse effects of acupuncture. All publications will be screened and extracted by 2 reviewers independently. Quality of the eligible publications will be assessed according to the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool and statistical analyses will be conducted by using the Review Manager V.5.3. RESULTS: This study will provide a high-quality comprehensive evaluation for the clinical efficacy and safety of acupuncture for PSUI. CONCLUSION: This systematic review will provide comprehensive evidence of acupuncture treatment on specific outcomes for PSUI. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Because of the study will not collect personal information, ethical approval will not be required. The results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. TRIAL REGISTRATION: INPLASY 202220045.