Comparison of efficacy and safety of complementary and alternative therapies for scapulohumeral periarthritis: A protocol for Bayesian network meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Scapulohumeral periarthritis is a disease with high incidence and great pain. The current western treatments with many side effects, poor efficacy cannot fundamentally solve the problem. Complementary and alternative therapies have played an excellent role in the treatment of scapulohumeral periarthritis. However, it is not clear which complementary and alternative therapy is more effective. Therefore, we propose a protocol to compare the efficacy and safety of various complementary and alternative therapies through network meta-analysis (NMA) to provide choice guidance for the therapy. METHODS: A comprehensive search will be conducted for randomized controlled trials of complementary and alternative therapy for scapulohumeral periarthritis as well as ongoing trials. The time limit is from the establishment of the database until January 2021. Literature and data extraction were completed independently by two researchers. Through pairwise comparison and meta-analysis of Bayesian NMA, all the evidences are evaluated comprehensively. STATA16.0 and WinBUGS1.4.3 software will be used for data processing and analysis, and recommendation evaluation will be used to develop and assess grades to classify the quality of NMA evidence. RESULTS: Through the analysis, we will obtain the ranking of the efficacy and safety of different complementary and alternative therapies in the treatment of scapulohumeral periarthritis, in order to provide reference for clinical selection of treatment methods. CONCLUSION: Complementary and alternative therapies of scapulohumeral periarthritis plays a positive role in improving the symptoms of scapulohumeral periarthritis. This study can provide evidence support for clinicians and patients.International Platform of Registered Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols registration number: INPLASY202140044.

A comparison of the efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicine in preconditioning patients with diminished ovarian reserve that would undergo In Vitro fertilization: A network meta-analysis protocol.

BACKGROUND: Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR) is a common disease in reproductive-age women in the diagnosis and treatment of infertility. The incidence of DOR increased quickly in recent years and had became one of the most important factors that made the quality of women life decline. Gynecology and reproductive medicine professors have made great efforts to explore good treatment methods all over the world. Traditional Chinese Medicine has made some achievement in treating DOR as a kind of complementary and alternative therapy In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) in recent years, it is indispensable to propose a network meta-analysis (NMA) protocol to discuss the efficacy and safety of TCM in IVF. METHODS: A literature search will be conducted in 8 electronic databases. RESULTS: The efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicine in preconditioning patients with diminished ovarian reserve that would undergo In Vitro Fertilization will be evaluated. RESULTS: The systematic review will evaluate the efficacy and safety of TCM in IVF. CONCLUSION: The result of this study will provide reliable evidence of the use of TCM in IVF. INPLASY REGISTRATION NUMBER: INPLASY2020110062. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This review does not require ethical approval.

A comparison of the efficacy and safety of complementary and alternative therapies for premature ovarian insufficiency: A protocol for network meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: With the increase in the incidence of premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) over the years, the ovarian function has become one of the integral aspects of research in reproductive medicine today. POI seriously affects the physical and mental health of women, especially reproductive health. Studies show both complementary and alternative therapies to be effective in treating POIs. However, consistency in conclusions is still far-fetched. In light of this, we will carry out a study to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of complementary and alternative therapies for POIs. We therefore develop a study protocol for a proposed network meta-analysis (NMA) and systematic review on POI. METHODS: The following electronic bibliographic database will be searched: VIP database, Wanfang database, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), The Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science from inception till 31 December 2019. A search at the World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform will also be done. Subsequently, the searched data will undergo independent screening, retrieving, and risk of bias assessment by 2 reviewers. Analysis will be performed on included studies using the NMA technique. Next, the primary outcomes will be compared using ADDIS 1.16.5 and Stata 15.0. RESULTS: The safety and effectiveness of alternative and complementary therapies used in the treatment of POI will be compared and evaluated. CONCLUSION: This work will provide high-quality evidence for clinicians in the field to build on for best practices in effective interventions (complementary and alternative therapies) for POI. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This NMA is a secondary research which based on some previously published data. Therefore, the ethical approval was not necessary. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020163873.

Comparative efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese patent medicine for endometriosis: A Bayesian network meta-analysis protocol.

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is a common disease of women of childbearing age. In recent years, the incidence of endometriosis has been on the rise. The main clinical manifestations are pelvic pain and infertility. In recent years, traditional Chinese patent medicine (TCMP) has played an important role in the treatment of endometriosis. So far, there is a lack of comparison among all the current common TCPMs for endometriosis. Consequently, it is indispensable to propose a network meta-analysis (NMA) protocol to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of different TCMPs. METHODS: We will comprehensively and systematically retrieve the relevant Chinese and English databases from their inceptions to the May 2019. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of TCMPs for Endometriosis will be included. Two researchers will independently screen literature, extract data and assess the risk of bias of included studies. We will conduct pairwise meta-analyses and Bayesian network meta-analyses to assess all the available evidence. Data will be analyzed using STATA and WinBUGS software. RESULTS: This work will compare and rank the relative efficacy of different TCPMs in the treatment of endometriosis in detail. CONCLUSION: The results of this study will provide reliable evidence for the selection of clinical treatment program and guideline development. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42019127781.