Acupuncture for anxiety: A protocol for a systematic review of controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Acupuncture has been widely, used in Asian countries since the Yuan Dynasty in China. Moreover, acupuncture has been reported to exhibit anti-allergy effects in many clinical trials. This systematic review will assess the effectiveness, and safety of acupuncture for anxiety treatment. METHODS: Eleven databases, including Asian databases, will be searched for studies conducted through December in the year 2017. We will include randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing acupuncture for anxiety. The risk of bias will be evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool, and confidence in the cumulative evidence will be evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) instrument. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. It will also be disseminated electronically, and in print. The review will be updated to inform, and guide healthcare practices. REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO 2018 under number CRD42018080034.