Acupoint catgut embedding for improving HOMA-IR in patients with abdominal obesity and insulin resistance: a protocol for systematic review and network meta-analysis

Objective Acupoint catgut embedding (ACE) shows promise for improving insulin resistance in abdominal obesity, but its comparative efficacy against other interventions remains unclear due to a lack of head-to-head trials. This study aims to systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of ACE for reducing HOMA-IR in this population and to compare different interventions via network meta-analysis. Methods We will conduct a systematic search of 13 electronic databases, covering the period from t