The effect of massage on the quality of life in patients recovering from COVID-19: A systematic review protocol

Wu, Liu; Dong, Yuting; Li, Jin; Huang, Ju; Wen, Dengpeng; Peng, Tao; Luo, Jian

BACKGROUND: There is a worldwide outbreak of covid-19, and as the number of patients increases, more and more patients are recovering. Massage is used as an alternative therapy. Currently, there are no relevant articles for systematic review. METHODS: We will search the randomized controlled trials related to acupuncture therapy and postoperative anorectal diseases from inception to January 2020. The following database is our focus area: the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, and Wan-Fang Database. All published randomized controlled trials in English or Chinese related to massage for COVID-19 will be included. Primary outcome asthe influence of massage on the quality of life of convalescent patients. Secondary outcomes were accompanying symptoms (such as myalgia, expectoration, stuffiness, runny nose, pharyngalgia, anhelation, chest distress, dyspnea, crackles, headache, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, diarrhea) disappear rate, negative COVID-19 results rate on 2 consecutive occasions (not on the same day), average hospitalization time, clinical curative effect, and improved quality of life. RESULTS: The results will provide a high-quality synthesis of current evidence for researchers in this subject area. CONCLUSION: The conclusion of our study will provide evidence to judge whether massage is an effective intervention on the quality of life in patients recovering. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020181398