Efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal for carotid atherosclerosis A protocol for systematic review and network meta-analysis

Background: Carotid atherosclerosis (CAS) can cause acute events such as myocardial infarction and stroke, seriously injuring human health. There are some shortcomings for statins and surgical in the treatment of CAS. Research has proved that Chinese herbal shows its unique advantages with the multichannel and multitarget treatment strategy. As a result, we propose this study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal in the treatment of CAS. Method: We will retrieve the relevant databases to collect the studies of Chinese herbal treatment of CAS up to July 2021. The retrieval language is limited to Chinese and English. Researchers will be responsible for screening studies and extracting data, and use STATA16.0 and WinBUGS1.4.3 for data analysis. We will conduct a bias risk assessment based on the Cochrane Collaboration's bias risk assessment tool and use the grading of recommendations assessment development and evaluation tool to assess the confidence of cumulative evidence. Results: The study will evaluate the efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal in the treatment of carotid atherosclerosis. Conclusion: The study will offer more evidence for the treatment of CAS with Chinese herbal and expand the selection range of clinicians. Protocol registration number: INPLASY2021100112.