Abstract
BackgroundDue to the worldwide rise in cancer incidence, and therefore the rise in the need for antineoplastic chemotherapy, it is important for both healthcare professionals and patients alike that the side effects of chemotherapy, such as chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV), are treated and prevented. Auriculotherapy is a type of acupuncture and may be a low-cost and safe antiemetic measure to control the side effects of chemotherapy. The goal of this systematic review is to synthesize the available evidence in the literature regarding the auriculotherapy effects to treat CINV in people with cancer.MethodsThe review will only include randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compare the clinical effects of the auriculotherapy intervention (used alone or as an add-on), with sham auriculotherapy, routine treatment with antiemetic drugs, or other non-pharmacological interventions in patients with cancer with CINV who are undergoing chemotherapy. The outcomes to be evaluated are nausea and vomiting: in acute, delayed, or anticipated stages, when induced by chemotherapy. A comprehensive search for studies will be carried out in these databases: MEDLINE via PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, ICTRP, LILACS, CUMED, IBECS, BVS MTCI Americas, Web of Science, Scopus, PEDro, CNKI, and CBMdisc up until December 31, 2018. Only articles in English, Portuguese, and Spanish will be selected. Two independent reviewers will evaluate full texts, extract data, and assess the risk of bias of eligible articles. The quality of evidence will be assessed using Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE). A meta-analysis will be undertaken to assess the interventions and outcomes’ homogeneity, assessing statistical heterogeneity using the Cochran’s Q test and quantified using Higgins’ inconsistency index. If there is insufficient data for a meta-analysis, a narrative synthesis will be presented. This protocol has been prepared according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) guidelines.DiscussionThe results of this systematic review will summarize the strength of evidence for the use of auriculotherapy in the control of CINV of patients with cancer and will be used to identify evidence gaps.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO CRD42018117513
Highlights
Due to the worldwide rise in cancer incidence, and the rise in the need for antineoplastic chemotherapy, it is important for both healthcare professionals and patients alike that the side effects of chemotherapy, such as chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV), are treated and prevented
To suggest a core outcome sets (COS) based on the treatment of CINV using auriculotherapy. Protocol and registration This protocol is registered in the Prospective Register of Ongoing Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) CRD42018117513 and was structured according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review guidelines and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P 2015) [32,33,34]
Types of participants Patients diagnosed with cancer, regardless of the type of tumor and staging, undergoing antineoplastic chemotherapeutic treatment, including those in palliative care, experiencing nausea and vomiting as adverse effects induced by the treatment
Summary
Due to the worldwide rise in cancer incidence, and the rise in the need for antineoplastic chemotherapy, it is important for both healthcare professionals and patients alike that the side effects of chemotherapy, such as chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV), are treated and prevented. CINV can affect 60 to 80% of cancer patients [4] This condition can undermine the antineoplastic treatment results, including, in some cases, the need to discontinue chemotherapy [5,6,7,8]. There is evidence that after prophylaxis with these antiemetic medications, the effects of acute and delayed nausea and vomiting can be avoided in up to 50% of the cases [13]. The high cost of these agents and their side effects, such as extra pyramidal disorders, hypotension, headache, constipation, fatigue, mouth dryness, vertigo, diarrhea, and irritability, have limited the use of these medications [14,15,16]
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