Background: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is one of the leading causes of disability. The effectiveness of auricular point pressing therapy for treating KOA remains controversial. This protocol describes the method of a systematic review and meta-analysis evaluating the effectiveness and safety of auricular point pressing therapy for treating KOA.
Methods: Four English databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library databases and Web of Science) and 4 Chinese databases (China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals, and Wanfang) will be searched. All randomized controlled trials related to auricular point pressing therapy for KOA will be included. Extracted data will include publication details, basic information, demographic data, intervention details and patient outcomes. The primary outcome will be Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index and visual analogue scale. Risk of bias will be assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration tool for assessing risk of bias. Article selection, data extraction and risk of bias assessment will be performed by 2 independent reviewers. If the meta-analysis is precluded, we will conduct a descriptive synthesis using a best-evidence synthesis approach. The strength of recommendations and quality of evidence will be assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development.
Results: The systematic review will provide evidence to assess the efficacy and safety of auricular point pressing therapy on KOA.
Conclusion: The systematic review will provide evidence to assess the efficacy and safety of auricular point pressing therapy for KOA patients.
Ethics and dissemination: For this review, ethical approval is not required. Patients will not be involved. The findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Inplasy registration number: INPLASY 202220077.
Copyright © 2022 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.