Efficacy and safety of acupuncture in combination with Chinese herbal medicine in dealing with osteoporosis: A protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Background: Osteoporosis (OP) has emerged as a major global public health issue due to its high prevalence, unknown pathogenesis, and lack of specific drugs for prevention and treatment. Studies have demonstrated that acupuncture in combination with Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is effective in treating OP. However, there is a scarcity of experience and high-quality evidence. A network meta-analysis and systematic review were used to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in combination with CHM for the treatment of OP. Methods: Comprehensive search of Chinese databases such as China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP, Wanfang, China Biomedical Literature Database and English databases for example PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMbase, etc. The search period was extended from the creation of the database to November 2022. All randomized controlled trials on acupuncture in combination with CHM in dealing with OP were collected. After literature analysis and data extraction, the Cochrance system was used to evaluate the high quality of the included articles and Stata 14.0 was used for the network meta-analysis. Results: The current systematic review and network meta-analysis will provide the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture in combination with CHM in dealing with OP. Conclusion: The research will provide reliable evidence for the clinical use of acupuncture in combination with CHM in dealing with OP.