The efficacy and safety of tonifying-kidney and invigorating-blood circulation (Bushen-Huoxue) formula on renal fibrosis in patients with chronic kidney disease: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

The incidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is increasing and the progression of renal interstitial fibrosis (RIF) in end-stage renal disease is attributed to the development of various CKD. One of the treatments for RIF is an oral treatment known as Bushen-Huoxue (BSHX), which stimulates blood circulation and tonifies the kidney. Randomized controlled trials of BSHX treatment of RIF have been reported, but their efficacy and safety have not been comprehensively examined. Therefore, our study aims to describe the efficacy and safety of oral application of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula of BSHX on treating RIF in CKD by systematic analysis and meta-analysis. A total of 13 databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, SpringerLink, WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, Wanfang China database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, and China’s Conference Papers Database and China Dissertation database will be searched from inception to July 2023. In addition, other suitable search strategies will be used as well to complete this review. All randomized controlled trials that use the BSHX formula for RIF to apply TCM treatments externally for CKD will be included. The eligible studies will be selected to enroll by 2 independent researchers following a predetermined protocol. The review manager software (Rev-Man 5.3) will be used to assess the risk of bias, reporting bias, and data synthesis. We will compile and discuss the recent examples of the TCM BSHX formula treatment for RIF in CKD. We will provide strong evidences for evaluating the efficacy and safety of the TCM BSHX formula treatment for RIF in CKD.