Is auriculotherapy effective and safe for the treatment of anxiety disorders?-Protocol for a systematic review

Introduction: The side effects associated with standard anxiety medications can limit their use. Therefore, a nonpharmacological approach such as auriculotherapy could play an important role in anxiety management. The main aim of this protocol for a systematic review will be to examine the effectiveness and safety of auriculotherapy for anxiety disorders (AD). Methods: The authors will conduct searches on the following databases: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE Ovid, Stephens Company, PubMed, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature Database, British Library's table of contents, World Health Organization, Clinical Trials. We will conduct a systematic review for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effectiveness and safety of auriculotherapy compared with placebo, waitlist treatment, routine care, or alternative treatment. To assess evidence quality, we plan to use the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation tool, while, for risk assessments, we will use the statistical software RevMan V 5.4. Data collection and analysis will be performed by two reviewers independently. Discussion: If effective and safe, then auriculotherapy may be an appropriate alternative to pharmacological treatment. Registration number: PROSPERO ID: CRD42021254503.