Analysis of Acupoint Selection and Combinations in Acupuncture Treatment of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Protocol for Data Mining

Abstract

Background

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), as the most common compression neuropathy in the upper limb, can lead to upper limb dysfunction in patients. The effectiveness of acupuncture in treating CTS has been validated based on numerous clinical trials and meta-analyses, but questions remain, such as how to select the best acupoints. Our purpose is to conduct the first data mining analysis to identify the most effective acupoint selection and combinations for treating CTS.

Methods

We will search 7 electronic bibliographic databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database and Chongqing VIP Database) from inception to March 2023. Clinical trials assessing the effectiveness of acupuncture therapy on the management of CTS will be selected. Reviews, protocols, animal trials, case reports, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses will be excluded. The primary outcome measure will be clinical result associated with CTS. Descriptive statistics will be performed in Excel 2019. Association rule analysis will be performed in SPSS Modeler 18.0. Exploratory factor analysis and cluster analysis will be performed in SPSS Statistics 26.0.

Results

This study will investigate the most effective acupoint selection and combinations for patients with CTS.

Conclusion

Our findings will provide evidence for the effectiveness and potential treatment prescriptions of acupoint application for patients with CTS, helping clinicians and patients make a more informed decision together.

Keywords:

• acupuncture
• carpal tunnel syndrome
• data mining
• descriptive statistics
• association rule analysis
• exploratory factor analysis
• cluster analysis

Patient and Public Involvement

Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of this research.

Author Contributions

All authors made a significant contribution to the work reported, whether that is in the conception, study design, execution, analysis and interpretation, or in all these areas; took part in drafting, revising or critically reviewing the article; gave final approval of the version to be published; have agreed on the journal to which the article has been submitted; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This study is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No: 82260983); The Special Project of TCM Talent Team Construction of Guangxi Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine—Prof. Yushan Fan Guangxi Famous TCM Inheritance Studio (No: 2023017-05-07); Innovation Project of Guangxi Graduate Education (No: YCSW2022351, No: YCBZ2023149).