• Xiaoxiao Lu, Xianming Wu, Xingrong Wu, Panbi Chen, and Jin Cui.
• Acupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2020 Jan 1; 99 (4): e18933.

BackgroundAsthma exacerbations can do a lot of harm to the patients and consume large amounts of medical resources. Although some studies have evaluated acupuncture for asthma in children, few studies have estimated acupoint catgut embedding therapy. We aim to assess the efficacy and safety of acupoint catgut embedding for asthma in adults.MethodsThe following databases will be searched from inception to December, 2019: Medline, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed, EMBASE, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI), the Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP database), and the Wan-fang database. We will also search relevant conference abstracts, and registers of clinical trials. Two reviewers will independently undertake study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment. Data will be synthesized by either the fixed-effects or random-effects model according to a heterogeneity test. The Revman V5.3 software will be used to conduct meta-analysis.ResultsThe primary outcome was lung function, forced expiratory volume in one second and forced vital capacity (FVC) were the most commonly used parameters to evaluate lung function. The safety assessment includes the incidence of adverse events.ConclusionThis systematic review will retrieve clinical randomized controlled trials (RCT) on acupoint catgut embedding for asthma in 7 databases, aiming to describe and update existing evidence on the efficacy and safety of acupoint catgut embedding for asthma in adults.PROSPERO registration number: CRD42019148401.

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