Effect and safety of traditional Chinese exercises (Qigong therapy) for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Traditional Chinese Exercises (Qigong therapy) are more and more popular for chronic pulmonary obstructive disease (COPD) patients for the treatment and rehabilitation, however, the comparative effectiveness and safety remains unclear. Our study aims to compare the pros and cons of these exercise interventions for COPD by implementing a network meta-analysis. METHODS: Publicly available scientific databases including ClinicalTrials.gov database, PubMed, Embase database, database in Web of Science, database in Cochrane Library, China Biomedical Literature Service System (SinoMed), Chinese Periodical Service Platform (VIP), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform (Wanfang) will be searched for the relevant clinical studies from 2000 to 2022. Randomized controlled trials related to Qigong therapy in COPD treatment will be included. Systematic review and meta-analysis in the current study will be investigated according to the guidelines of the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses extension statement for reporting of systematic reviews incorporating meta-analyses of health care interventions. The grading of recommendations assessment, development, and evaluation system will be used to evaluate the rank of evidence. RESULTS: This systematic review will summarize the evidence for different kinds of Qigong therapies. CONCLUSION: The network meta-analysis was designed to update and expand on previous research results of clinical trials to better evaluate the effectiveness and safety of different interventions of traditional Chinese exercises for COPD.