Acupuncture for fatigue in parkinsons disease: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundParkinsons disease (PD) is a common movement disorder characterized by bradykinesia, rigidity, and resting tremors. Fatigue is a common disabling symptom but is easily ignored in PD. Half of the PD patients were influenced by fatigue. Acupuncture is one of the conservative treatments for fatigue related to other conditions, especially in China. Therefore, we perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the evidence for acupunctures effectiveness, safety, and cost benefits for the treatment. MethodsThis protocol is based on the previously published randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies. A literature search will be performed on the following database: PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Chinese BioMedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), and Wanfang Data. According to the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool and the level of evidence for results, we will assess the quality of the included studies by using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) method. The Review Manager (v5.3) software will be applied to statistical analysis. ResultsFrom the study, we will assess the effectiveness, safety, and cost-benefit of acupuncture on fatigue relief and functional improvement in patients with Parkinsons Disease. PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020163155 Strengths and limitations of this studyThis paper emphasizes the importance of assessing acupuncture in treating Parkinsons fatigue symptoms and provides methodological guidance for the evaluation of clinical evidence. This study 1) provides a research protocol, 2) facilitates the reasonable evaluation for acupuncture in the treatment of Parkinsons fatigue symptoms, and 3) raises the potential importance of acupuncture in Parkinsons fatigue symptoms. Due to the lack of acupuncture reports, there may be a limitation of the small sample size.