• Ying Chen, Mingmin Xu, Tinghui Hou, Lu Wang, Xiumei Feng, and Ying Li.
• School of Acupuncture and Moxibustion and Tuina, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. No. 37 Shierqiao Road, Jinniu District, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2020 Jul 10; 99 (28): e20910e20910.

IntroductionThe objective of this review is to assess the efficacy and safety of moxibustion for treating patients with functional constipation (FC).Methods And AnalysisWe will electronically search the following databases: OVID MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane library, CINAHL, AMED, China Network Knowledge Infrastructure, Wan-fang Database, China Biomedical Literature Database, and other resources from inception to October 2019, without any language restrictions. Randomised-controlled trials will be included. The primary outcome is the improvement in mean complete spontaneous bowel movements and stool form (utilize the Bristol Stool Form Scale [BSFS]). Secondary outcomes involve the degree of difficulty in defecation, proportion of responders, mean transit time, health-related quality of life, and adverse events rate. The methodological quality will be assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool.ResultsThis work will summarize clinical evidence to assess the effectiveness and safety of moxibustion treatment for FC patients.ConclusionThis systematic review and meta-analysis will provide current evidence of the efficacy and safety of moxibustion treating FC.Systematic Review RegistrationPROSPERO, CRD42020157955.

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