Moxibustion for uterine contraction pain: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Uterine contraction pain is a common postpartum condition that often plagues mothers and can interfere with feeding and normal life for young children. Many investigations have demonstrated that moxibustion has certain advantages in the treatment of uterine contraction pain, but the effectiveness, safety, and advantages of various methods have not been confirmed by high-quality meta-analyses. This study will conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the safety and effectiveness in moxibustion, in order to provide a reference for further clinical treatment for uterine contraction pain. METHODS: Nine electronic databases, including PubMed, Medline, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, Wan-Fang Database and 1 clinical trial register platforms: ClinicalTrials.gov (www.ClinicalTrials.gov/) will be searched using English and Chinese search strategies. All eligible studies are randomized controlled trials of moxibustion treatment for uterine contraction pain, published on or before December 31, 2021. The screening process will be developed by 2 independent authors, and network meta-analysis will be performed with RevMan (V5.3) software. RESULTS: This study will provide a high-quality review that will be used to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of moxibustion for the treatment of uterine contraction pain. CONCLUSION: The results of this study will provide evidence to support whether moxibustion can effectively intervene in uterine contraction pain.