Internal treatment in traditional Chinese medicine for patients with COVID-19: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis
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Mingxu Zhang1, Ju Huang2, Xinhui Wu3
1Eye School of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Insights
This systematic review evaluates Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) internal treatments for COVID-19. Evidence will determine TCM
Area of Science:
- Integrative medicine
- Evidence-based healthcare
- Infectious disease research
Background:
- Assessing the safety and effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) internal treatments for COVID-19.
- Addressing the growing need for diverse therapeutic options in managing the pandemic.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and meta-analyze randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on TCM internal treatments for COVID-19.
- To synthesize current evidence on TCM's efficacy and safety in treating COVID-19 patients.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive search of multiple databases (PubMed, Embase, CNKI, etc.) from inception to April 2020.
- Inclusion of all published English and Chinese RCTs on TCM internal treatments for COVID-19.
- Independent study selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment by two reviewers.
- Data synthesis using Review Manager Software V.5.2.
Main Results:
- The synthesis will provide high-quality evidence on TCM's role in COVID-19 treatment.
- Key outcomes include symptom resolution time, cytokine levels, and clinical recovery rates.
- Analysis will cover hospitalization duration, disease progression, and mortality.
Conclusions:
- The study aims to provide robust evidence on the effectiveness of TCM internal treatments for COVID-19.
- Findings will inform clinical practice and healthcare policy regarding TCM in pandemic management.
Background:
The safety and effectiveness of Internal Treatment in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) on Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the main subject of this protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.
Methods:
The following online databases will be searched from inception to April 2020: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Wan-Fang Database, and Chinese Scientific Journal Database. All published randomized controlled trials in English or Chinese related to Internal Treatment in Traditional Chinese Medicine for COVID-19 will be included. Primary outcomes are time of disappearance of main symptoms and serum cytokine levels. Secondary outcomes is Accompanying symptoms disappear rate, negative COVID-19 results rate on 2 consecutive occasions CT image improvement, average hospitalization time, occurrence rate of common type to severe form, clinical cure rate, and mortality. Two reviewers will conduct the study selection, data extraction, and assessment independently. The assessment of risk of bias and data synthesis will be conducted with Review Manager Software V.5.2.
Results:
The results will provide a high-quality synthesis of current evidence for researchers in this subject area.
Conclusion:
The conclusion of our study will provide evidence to judge whether the internal treatment in traditional Chinese medicine is an effective intervention for COVID-19 patients.
Prospero Registration Number:
CRD42020180178.
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