Traditional East Asian herbal medicines for the treatment of poststroke constipation: A protocol for systematic review and meta analysis

Post-stroke constipation is a major complication of stroke and increases the incidence of poor neurological outcomes and infectious complications and, therefore, warrants active and prompt treatment. In East Asian countries, several types of herbal medicines have been used for the treatment of post-stroke constipation because they are considered safer than existing pharmacotherapies. However, no systematic review has investigated the efficacy and safety of traditional East Asian herbal medicine in the treatment of post-stroke constipation. With this systematic review and meta-analysis, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of traditional East Asian herbal medicines for the treatment of post-stroke constipation. Eight electronic databases will be searched for relevant studies published from inception to April 2021. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that assess the efficacy and safety of traditional East Asian herbal medicines for the treatment of post-stroke constipation will be included in this study. The methodological qualities, including the risk of bias, will be evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool. After screening the studies, a meta-analysis of the RCTs will be performed, if possible. This study is expected to generate high-quality evidence of the efficacy and safety of herbal medicines to treat post-stroke constipation. Our systematic review will provide evidence to determine whether herbal medicines can be effective interventions for patients with post-stroke constipation. Ethical approval is not required, as this study was based on a review of published research. This review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and disseminated electronically and in print. Research registry reviewregistry1117.