Neuromuscular electrical stimulation on hearing loss caused by skull base fracture: A protocol for systematic review of randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: This systematic review aims to investigate the effectiveness and safety of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) on hearing loss (HL) caused by skull base fracture (SBF). METHODS: We will retrieve the following electronic databases of Cochrane Library, PUBMED, EMBASE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database from the inception to January 1, 2019 for relevant RCTs of NMES for HL caused by SBF. Two experienced authors will independently perform the study selection, data extraction, and methodology quality assessment. A 3rd author will solve any disagreements between 2 authors through discussion. RESULTS: This study will provide a high-quality synthesis of latest evidence of NMES for HL caused by SBF from comprehensive assessments, including hearing loss evaluation, hearing threshold, quality of life, and any relevant adverse events. CONCLUSION: The expected results of this systematic review will provide the up-to-date evidence to assess the effectiveness and safety of NEMS for patients with HL caused by SBF. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The results of this study will be disseminated through publication in a peer-reviewed journal or will be presented at an associated conference meeting. This study will not use individual patient data, thus, the ethical approval is not needed. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO CRD42019120195.

Acupuncture as an add-on therapy to sublingual allergen-specific immunotherapy for patients with allergic rhinitis.

This study retrospectively analyzed the effectiveness of acupuncture as add-on therapy (AAOT) to sublingual allergen-specific immunotherapy (SASIT) for patients with allergic rhinitis (AR). A total of 120 eligible cases of adult patients with AR were included in this retrospective study. Of these, 60 patients received AAOT plus SASIT and were assigned to a treatment group, while the other 60 subjects underwent SASIT only, and were assigned to a control group. Primary outcome was AR symptoms. The secondary outcome was quality of life, as evaluated by the Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (RQLQ). In addition, adverse events were also recorded during the study period. All outcomes were assessed before and after 8 weeks treatment. After 8 weeks treatment, patients in the treatment group had much better effectiveness in symptoms relief (P <.05), and quality of life improvement (activity domain, P = .04; practical domain, P = .03), compared with patients in the control group. In addition, although patients in the treatment group reported more mild pain at local area after the treatment than that in the control group (P <.01), no patients stopped the treatment. The results of this study showed that AAOT plus SASIT achieved more benefits in patients with AR than SASIT alone.