• Yumei Zhou, Chen Chen, Yulin Yang, Haibo Yu, and Zhuoxin Yang.
• The Fourth Clinical Medical College of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen, GuangDong 518033, China.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2021 Feb 5; 100 (5): e24402e24402.

BackgroundAcupuncture is widely used for analgesia in China and western countries. Lateral epicondylitis (LE) is a common disease, which influences the quality of life for many patients. The clinical practice indicates that acupuncture has a therapeutic effect on the LE; however, whether acupuncture is superior to sham acupuncture and some conventional therapy methods has been controversial. Hence, we will provide a protocol to explore the effectiveness and safety for acupuncture for LE.MethodsWe will search only the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) literatures of acupuncture for LE from the following seven databases, including PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library), Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), Wanfang Data, and Chinese Scientific Journals Database (VIP). The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) will be considered as the primary outcome and the secondary outcome will include effective rate and function recovery. Adverse events incidence caused by acupuncture will also be discussed, such as dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and weariness. The searching strategy, inclusion and exclusion criteria were made according to the principle of evidence-based medicine. The quality was evaluated by Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions (V5.1). All analyses will be conducted by Review Manager Software (V5.3).ResultThe results of this review will be submitted to a recognized journal for publication.ConclusionThis proposed meta-analysis will assess the efficacy and safety of acupuncture therapy for LE.Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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