The effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicine for tic disorders in children and adolescents A protocol for systematic review and meta analysis

Background: The tic disorders are common neuropsychiatric disorders that affects the growth and development of children and adolescents. Chinese herbal medicine is commonly used for the treatment of tic disorders. However, there is no consensus on the difference in clinical efficacy compared with routine treatment. Therefore, we plan to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to review the clinical efficacy of Chinese herbal medicine for tic disorders. Methods: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, EMBASE, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Bio-medical Database, and Wanfang database will be searched from their inception until March 31, 2021. The meta-analysis will be conducted with Review Manager 5.3 software to systematically review the clinical efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal medicine for tic disorders. The primary outcome will include the improvement rate (amount) of tic symptoms using related scales or methods, and the secondary outcome will include adverse events. Results: This analysis will provide useful information about clinical efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal medicine for tic disorders. Conclusions: Our study will generate strong evidence of Chinese herbal medicine for patients with tic disorders and provide suggestions for clinical practice.