Effects of Moving Cupping Therapy for Plaque Psoriasis: A Protocol for a Randomised Multicentre Clinical Trial

Abstract ABSTRACT Background: The clinical treatment of plaque psoriasis is based on comprehensive therapy, which is expensive and unsatisfactory, and some of the drugs currently used have serious side effects. Moving cupping therapy has been used clinically for thousands of years in China and has the advantage of being inexpensive and easy to perform. It is now widely used in public hospitals in China for the treatment of psoriasis. However, at present, a comprehensive evaluation of the current clinical evidence regarding its use is lacking. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of moving cupping in the treatment of plaque psoriasis. Methods and analysis: A multicentre, two-arm parallel group, single-blind randomised controlled trial will be conducted in six academic and non-academic hospitals in China. A total of 110 adult patients (aged 18-65 years) who meet the inclusion criteria are now being recruited. Participants will receive (1) basic treatment combined with moving cupping therapy or (2) basic treatment combined with moving cupping placebo. The treatment cycle will be 4 weeks, and the treatment efficacy will be assessed weekly using the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index during the treatment period and the follow-up visits at weeks 6 and 8. The body surface area, physician's global assessment, Dermatology Life Quality Index, patient-reported quality of life, visual analogy scale, traditional Chinese medication syndrome scoring scale, combined medication, and adverse events will also be recorded and compared to the baseline values. Discussion: The results of this trial may help make better decisions in the treatment of plaque psoriasis. If the results are considered to be favorable, this ancient Chinese medicine therapy may be worthier of promotion because of its convenience and cheap advantages to benefit patients. Trial registration: This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under the identifier number NCT03952676. Registered on 15 May 2019.