Acupuncture for dyspnea and breathing physiology in chronic respiratory diseases: A protocol of a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Background: Dyspnea is one of the most common symptoms of chronic respiratory disease (CRD) and is closely related to increased functional disability and mortality, resulting in substantial adverse outcomes on patients and imposing great social and economic burden. Although multiple clinical trials and systematic reviews have suggested that acupuncture could be effective in treating COPD and lung cancer, little is known about its effects on dyspnea relief in patients with CRD. The present study aimed to use a systematic review approach to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of dyspnea in patients with CRD. Methods: We will search the following 9 databases from inception to June 30, 2022, PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, WANFANG Database, Chinses Scientific and Technological Periodical Database, and Chinese Biomedical Database, and the Cochrane Library Database. Clinical randomized controlled trials in English or Chinese that evaluate invasive acupuncture versus control group in treatment of CRD with dyspnea will be included. The primary outcome will be dyspnea scores, breathing physiological function, and the secondary outcomes include exercise tolerance by six-minute walk distance quality of life, quality of life and adverse events. Two reviewers will independently conduct study selection, data extraction and quality assessment. The Review Manager software will be used for meta-analysis. This protocol will be carried out in accordance with the PRISMA-P guidance. Conclusion: This systematic review and meta-analysis will provide the evidence of whether acupuncture is an effective and safe intervention for CRD with dyspnea. The results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication.