Cupping therapy for treating ankylosing spondylitis: Protocol for a systematic review

Abstract

IntroductionCupping therapy has been widely used in Eastern Asia, the Middle East, and Central and Northern Europe to manage the symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). The aim of this systematic review will be to review data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of cupping therapy for treating patients with AS. MethodsDatabases that will be searched from their inception until February 2018: MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, AMED, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, six Korean databases [Korean Studies Information, DBPIA, Korean Institute of Science and Technology Information, KERIS, KoreaMed and Korean National Assembly Library] as well as four Chinese databases [Chinese BioMedical Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wan-Fang Data, and the Chinese WeiPu Database]. In this systematic review, only RCTs related to the effects of cupping therapy on AS management will be included. In addition, the two groups will also receive a regular rehabilitation intervention. A quantitative synthesis of RCTs will be conducted using the RevMan 5.3 software. Study selection, data extraction, and validation will be performed independently by two reviewers. Cochrane Quantitative analysis of RCTs will also be performed using RevMan 5.3 software, and the Cochrane criteria for risk-of-bias. Ethics and disseminationThis systematic review will not use data from individual patients, and no privacy concerns are involved. The results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications. Trial registration numberPROSPERO registration number: CRD42017078972.