Ayurvedic Interventions for Psoriasis

Abstract

Background: Psoriasis produces significant adverse effects on the psychological and social aspects of the patient, mainly because of its visibility. World Health Organization's (WHO) recent Global Report on Psoriasis states that there are many unmet research gaps in psoriasis with respect to treatment and ways to improve healthcare services. Clinical Research on psoriasis should focus on options that can be applicable globally, on a large-scale. Plenty of studies individually proving efficacy of various Ayurvedic treatment modalities in subjective and objective improvement of psoriasis are published. Systematic reviews of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) on psoriasis are available, but these studies do not include Ayurvedic interventions. Aim: Thorough review of published data of Ayurvedic interventions in the management of psoriasis to provide more precise estimates of safety and effectiveness of Ayurvedic interventions for psoriasis. Objective: Outlining the protocol to conduct a Systematic Review of published studies examining the effects of Ayurvedic interventions on psoriasis. Materials and methods: The preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA) protocols guidelines, The Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions, the consolidated standards of reporting trials guidelines, guidance on the conduct of narrative synthesis in systematic reviews provided the design to conduct and report the protocol, structure research question and search term selection and the data extraction form; though some adaptations may be made with regard to search terms, data synthesis, and evaluating the risk of bias. Trial registration number: PROSPERO 2018 CRD42018097298. Dissemination: The SR will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. The review will be updated to inform and guide healthcare practice and policy.