Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Perforator veins (PVs) play an important role in the development of chronic venous insufficiency and ulceration. Procedures to eliminate incompetence and reflux in PV may include open surgery, subfascial endoscopic surgery, intravenous ablation techniques and sclerotherapy. With the aim of filling the evidence gap, this is a protocol for a systematic review that will assess the effects of any form of intervention for the treatment of pathologic PVs of the lower limbs in patients with chronic venous disease. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Systematic searches will be carried out in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane CENTRAL, IBECS and LILACS databases at a minimum without date or language restrictions for relevant randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs (trials in which the method of allocation is not truly random). In addition, a search will also be carried out in the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, in the clinical trial registries of ClinicalTrials.gov and in the grey literature source OpenGrey.eu. The RCT and quasi-RCT comparison techniques isolated or in combination for treating PVs will be considered. Three review authors will independently perform data extraction and quality assessments of data from included studies, and any disagreements will be resolved by discussion. The primary outcomes will be wound healing and pain. Secondary outcomes will include oedema, adverse events, recurrence or recanalisation, quality of life and economic aspects. The Cochrane handbook will be used for guidance. If the results are not appropriate for a meta-analysis in RevManV.5 software (eg, if the data have considerable heterogeneity and are drawn from different comparisons), a descriptive analysis will be performed. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics committee approval is not necessary. We intend to update the public registry used in this review, report any important protocol amendments and publish the results in a widely accessible journal. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42018092974.