Effectiveness and safety of Ayurvedic medicines in type-2 diabetes management: a systematic review protocol

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate and synthesize evidence on the effectiveness and safety of Ayurvedic medicines for managing type-2 diabetes. INTRODUCTION: Several randomized controlled trials have been conducted to assess the effectiveness and safety of Ayurvedic medicines for managing type-2 diabetes. Systematic reviews have been conducted on this topic but need to be updated. The findings from this review will be used to develop a clinical guideline for managing type-2 diabetes by Ayurvedic practitioners in India. INCLUSION CRITERIA: Randomized controlled trials assessing the effectiveness and safety of Ayurvedic medicines for managing type-2 diabetes in adults will be included in this systematic review. METHODS: The authors will search for a wide range of sources to find both published and unpublished studies, including, but not limited to, MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCOhost), PsycINFO (Ovid), Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Allied and Complementary Medicine Database (AMED; Ovid). No language restrictions will be applied. The JBI systematic review methodology will be followed when conducting the review. Data synthesis will be conducted using narrative synthesis and meta-analyses, where appropriate. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42018118285