Protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis: Moxibustion for treating ankylosing spondylitis

IntroductionMoxibustion is widely used in China and other East Asian countries to manage the symptom of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the available evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of moxibustion for treating patients with AS.MethodsThe following Seventeen databases will be searched from their inception to August 2016: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, AMED, CINAHL, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wan-Fang Data, Chinese BioMedical Database (CBM), Chinese WeiPu Database(a special translation in English), and the six Korean medical datebases (Korean Studies Information, DBPIA, the Korean Institute of Science and Technology Information, KERIS, KoreaMed and the Korean National Assembly Library). Only the RCTs related to the effects of moxibustion on AS will be included in this systematic review. A quantitative synthesis of RCTs will be conducted using RevMan 5.3 software. Study selection, data extraction, and validation will be performed independently by two reviewers. Cochrane criteria for risk of bias will be used to assess the methodological quality of the trials.Ethics and disseminationThis systematic review will not use data from individual patients and no privacy will be involved. The results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications.Trial registration numberPROSPERO registration number: CRD42016046246.