The Effectiveness and Safety of Moxibustion for Peripheral Facial Paralysis:A Protocol for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Abstract Background: Moxibustion has been used in treating patients with Peripheral Facial Paralysis(PFP), but its effectiveness and safety have not been systematically evaluated. Therefore, the objective of this review is to comprehensively assess the effectiveness and safety of moxibustion for PFP.Methods: We will conduct a systematic document retrieval of databases from inception to March 18, 2021, including Embase, Cochrane Library, Pubmed, Chinese databases SinoMed, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Scientific Journals Database and Wanfang Data (WF). Reviewers will independently retrieve databases, identify trials, extract data, and evaluate the quality of eligible randomized controlled trials(RCTs). The outcomes will include: the effective rate, the House-Brackmann (H-B) score, Facial Disability Index (FDI), and side effects. The quality of eligible RCT will be assessed by the Cochrane risk-of-bias. Meta-analysis will be processed by the Cochrane Collaboration’s RevMan 5.3.0.Discussion: This review will provide comprehensive evidence of moxibustion for PFP.Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42020207068