Electroacupuncture for migraine protocol for a systematic review of controlled trials.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: A migraine is one of the primary headache disorders. Acupuncture has been widely used to treat migraine. Furthermore, electroacupuncture (EA) treatment has been also used to treat migraine. However, there has been no systematic review by assessing efficacy and safety of EA on migraine. This protocol is developed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the evidences related to the effectiveness and safety of EA on migraine.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This protocol follows the guideline according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis Protocol and registered on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO). The following seven databases will be searched from their inception to September 2016: Medline, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), EMBASE, OASIS, the Korean Traditional Knowledge Portal, the Korean Medical Database and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). This Systemic review will include only the randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) of acupuncture therapy on migraine. We will perform data extraction, study selection, assessment with risk of bias and data analysis. The primary outcomes of this study are headache pain intensity and the total treatment effective rate. And this protocol study for systematic reviews, the approval of IRB was not required.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This systematic review will not need ethical approval, because it doesn't involve human beings. We will publish this systematic review electronically in a peer-reviewed journal. This systematic review will give healthcare practitioners good practical guide and information for treating migraine.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPEROCRD42018085099.