Acupuncture with or without acupoint application for primary dysmenorrhea: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction Dysmenorrhea is the most common gynaecological symptom reported by women. Ninety percent of women presenting for primary care experience some menstrual pain. Population surveys suggest that, although prevalence rates vary considerably by geographical location, complaints of dysmenorrhea are widespread in diverse populations. This study will evaluate the results of randomized controlled trials to determine the efficacy and safety of acupuncture with or without acupoint application for the treatment of dysmenorrhea. Methods Eight databases, including China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, MEDLINE, PubMed, Wanfang Database, and Web of Science, will be searched using English and Chinese search strategies. In addition, manual retrieval of research papers, conference papers, ongoing experiments, and internal reports, among others, will supplement electronic retrieval. All eligible studies published on or before December 12, 2021 will be selected. To enhance the effectiveness of the study, only clinical randomized controlled trials related to the use of acupuncture with or without acupoint application for the treatment of dysmenorrhea will be included. Analysis The Visual Analog Scale will be the primary outcome measure, whereas the McGill pain questionnaire, SF-36 Scale, Self-Rating Anxiety, and Self-Rating Depression scale will be the secondary outcomes. Side effects and adverse events will be included as safety evaluations. To ensure the quality of the systematic evaluation, study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment will be independently performed by two authors, and a third author will resolve any disagreement. Ethics and dissemination This systematic review will evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture with or without acupoint application for the treatment of dysmenorrhea. Since all included data will be obtained from published articles, it does not require ethical approval and will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. INPLASY registration number: INPLASY202230051.