Effects of Chinese herbs in children with Henoch-Schonlein purpura nephritis：a randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE： To research the curative effect of Chi- nese herbs for clearing away heat, promoting diure- sis, nourishing the kidney, and consolidating es- sence in children with Henoch-Schonlein purpura nephritis（HSPN） with internal accumulation of damp-toxin using randomized controlled observa- tions on large samples. To seek the mechanism of the therapy and its scope of indications. METHODS： Overall, 186 children with HSPN were randomly divided into two groups： treatment group（n=126） treated with Chinese herbs for clear- ing heat and promoting diuresis and a control group（n=60） treated with Western Medicine. The treatment was carried out for three courses of 4 weeks each. We recorded changes in patient urine routines, 24 h urinary protein, blood-coagulating series, immunoglobulin and T-cell subgroups, and improvements in main symptoms. We evaluated the alleviation of clinical symptoms and the im- provement of proteinuria, hematuria, and other lab-oratory test results. Finally, we analyzed the patient population suitable for this therapy according to the relationship between the grouping of patient body weight and curative effect. RESULTS： Damp-heat syndrome improved in the treatment group, with a significant difference in to- tal effective rate after a 4-week treatment（χ2= 13.5220, P=0.0002） and in curative rate after a 12-week treatment（χ2=6.3410, P=0.0118）, com- pared to those in the control group.The curative ef- fect in the treatment group was greater than that in the control group but there was no statistical dif- ference between the two groups. The curative ef- fect after a 4-week treatment of patients in the treatment group weighing 30 kg or less based on Traditional Chinese Medicine（TCM） signs and uri- nary protein was significantly greater than that in the control group. However, there was no statistical difference in the curative effect on urinary red cells and various indexes after a 12-week treatment be- tween the two groups. CONCLUSION： Therapy for clearing away heat, pro- moting diuresis, nourishing the kidney, and consoli- dating essence using TCM is effective in children with HSPN from internal accumulation of damp-toxin. The therapy is especially suitable for patients weighing 30 kg or less. The curative effect may be related to the improvement of immune function and blood-coagulation.     

Effects of Chinese herbs combined with in vitro fertilization and em- bryo transplantation on infertility： a clinical randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE： To assess the effects of using Chinese herbs in assisted reproductive technology. METHODS： Four hundred and thirty-three subjects aged less than 42 years with infertility due to Fallo- pian tube or male-related factors who were willing to undertake in vitro fertilization and embryo trans- plantation were randomly allocated to a Chinese herb intervention group （n=216） or a conventional treatment control group （n=217）. All subjects re- ceived one of four routine ultra-ovulation-promot- ing therapies at the Reproductive Center in the Third Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University ac- cording to their physician＇s assessments. The sub- jects in the intervention group received various Chi- nese herbs depending on their conventional treat- ment. Endometrial thickness, number of acquired eggs, and rates of normal fertility, high-quality em- bryos, biochemical and clinical pregnancy of sub- jects were assessed in both groups.RESULTS： The high-quality embryo rate of 51.9%, biochemical pregnancy rate of 51.0%, clinical preg- nancy rate of 44.2% and endometrial thickness of （10.84± 1.75） mm in the intervention group were all significantly higher than those in the control group [48.7%, 38.9%, 34.8%, and （10.52±1.50） mm, respec- tively; P〈O.05]. The normal fertility rate of 58.5% in the Chinese herb group was also significantly supe- rior to the 54.7% achieved in the control group （P〈 0.01）. There were no statistically significant differ- ences （P〉0.05） in the average number of acquired eggs within a single cycle, incidence of excessive stimulation of ovary, rates of embryo transplanta- tion or early abortion and birth of living babies be- tween the two groups. CONCLUSION： Our findings indicate that Chinese herbs increase endometrial thickness, improve the quality of fertility and embryo, and promote embry- onic nidation, thus enhancing the success rate of in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injec- tion-embryo transplantation cycle. Using Chinese herbs improves th     

Clinical curative effect of electric acupuncture on acute cerebral in- farction： a randomized controlled multicenter trial

OBJECTIVE： To examine whether electric acupuncture can improve the daily life of patients with ischemic cerebral apoplexy at acute stage.METHODS： A stratified-block randomized controlled multicenter trial was designed for this study.Totally 340 patients with acute ischemic cerebral apoplexy were randomly divided into an electric acupuncture group and a control group. In the electric acupuncture group, 170 patients were treated with electric acupuncture and routine therapy, and170 patients in the control group with routine therapy alone. Major indexes for judging curative effect were Barthel index at 3- and 6- months follow-up visits and number of re-hospitalized patients. Mi-nor indexes for judging curative effect were change in the score for nervous dysfunction at 4and 12 weeks follow-up visits and number of patients persisting in rehabilitation treatment with acupuncture during follow-up visit.RESULTS： Baseline data at the time of case selection between the two groups were similar. The odds ratio（OR） was 0.92, and the 95% confidence interval（CI） was 0.49-1.73 in disabled rate and 0.73 and 0.51-1.05 in the number of re-hospitalized patients in the electric acupuncture group at 6-month follow up visit compared with the control group.There was no difference in the score for nervous dysfunction at the end of 12-week follow-up visit between the two groups. The score for nervous dysfunction at the end of 4-week treatment in the electric acupuncture group was significantly higher than that in the control group（P〈0.05）. The number of patients discharged from hospital who persisted in rehabilitation treatment with acupuncture in the acupuncture group was significantly higher than that in the control group.CONCLUSION： Using electric acupuncture to treat patients with acute ischemic cerebral apoplexy can effectively improve the nervous dysfunction scores after 4-week treatment and their ability to deal with daily life after 6-month follow-up visit. Systematic treatment with acupuncture may also reduc     

Curative effect of heat-sensitive moxibustion on chronic persistent asthma： a multicenter randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE： To compare the curative effects of heat-sensitive moxibustion with conventional drugs on chronic persistent asthma and seek a valuable therapy to replaceWestern Medicine. METHODS： The participants in this multi-center, randomized, and controlled study were randomly divided into two groups： group A（n=144）, treated with heat-sensitive moxibustion（50 sessions） and group B（n=144）, treated with Seretide（salmeterol 50 μg/fluticasone 250 μg, twice a day）. The scores of asthma control test（ACT）, forced expiratory volume in 1 second（FEV1）, peak expiratory flow（PEF）, and attack frequency were measured after 15, 30, 60, and 90 days of treatment. Patients followed up 3 and 6 months after treatment. RESULTS： There was a significant difference（P= 0.0002） in the ACT score and lung function between the two groups after 3 months of treatment and（P=0.000 03） during the follow-up visits. In addition, heat-sensitive moxibustion reduced attack frequency in the period from inclusion to the 6-month follow-up visit. CONCLUSION： This study shows that heat-sensitive moxibustion may have a comparable curative effect toSeretide（salmeterol/fluticasone） on asthma.     

Efficacy of Chinese herbal medicine for lumbar disc herniation： a systematic review of randomized controlled trials

OBJECTIVE： This is a review of the effects of Chi- nese herbal medicine （CHM） used alone to treat lumbar disc herniation （LDH）. METHORDS： A literature search of the following electronic databases from their inception to Febru- ary 2013 was conducted： Chinese Biomedical data- bases, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, China Science and Technology Journal Database, Cochrane Library, Web of Sci- ence, MEDLINE, and EMBASE. Randomized con- trolled trials where CHM had been used to treat LDH were selected. Data extraction, quality assess- ment, and data analysis were carried out by two in- dependent reviewers. RESULTS： Of the 2415 studies identified, eight with complete data on 1146 patients were selected. The methodological quality was poor in all trials. Five studies reported that CHM was better than WesternMedicine [OR=2.81, 95% CI （1.27, 6.18）; OR=3.34, 95% CI （1.92, 5.79）; 0R=2.22, 95% CI （1.08, 4.57）; OR= 6.67, 95% CI （1.34, 33.28）; and OR=1.94, 95% CI （1.23, 3.06）]. Two studies reported that the clinical outcome was better in CHM groups than in physio- therapy and placebo groups, [OR=3.02, 9.5% CI （1.08, 8.46）; and OR=2.67, 95% CI （1.26, 5.64）, re- spectively], whereas one study reported no differ- ence between CHM and physiotherapy groups. One study reported that CHM resulted in higher Japanese Orthopedic Association scores [MD=7.78, 95% CI （6.67, 8.89）] than in a control group and an- other that participants treated with CHM had lower Visual Analogue Scale scores [MD=- 0.72, 95% CI （ - 0.86, 0.58）] than those in a control group. Three studies reported that the adverse effects of CHM and Western Medicine did not differ signifi- cantly [OR=0.10, 95% CI （0.01, 1.85）; OR=0.19, 95% CI （0.01,4.07）; and OR=O.07, 95% CI （0.00, 1.32）]. CONCLUSION： CHM may be more effective than other interventions for LDH; however, methodologi- cal weaknesses in the studies assessed in this re- view prevent a definitive conclusion. More high-quality large-scale studies are required to clar- ify this matter.     

Effect of Bufei granule on stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease： a randomized,double blinded,placebo-controlled,and multicenter clinical study

OBJECTIVE： To study the therapeutic effect Bufei granule, which is a traditional Chinese drug that can enhance the immune function of the lung, on patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease（COPD）.METHODS： This is a randomized, double blinded,placebo-controlled, and multicenter clinical study.Three medical centers in Tianjin, China, participated in the trial. A total of 140 patients with stable COPD were enrolled and randomized into two groups, with 70 patients in each. The treatment group was treated with Bufei granule, while the control group received Bufei placebo. The pharmacological treatment lasted for 12 weeks from the date of enrollment. Then, the indexes of patients were observed. Data were analyzed to study the effect of Bufei granule, with the frequency of acute exacerbation as the primary outcome. Traditional Chinese Medicine syndromes,Modified British Medical Research Council dyspnea scale score, St.George＇s respiratory questionnaire scores, pulmonary function, and serum inflammatory marker levels [including interleukin-6（IL-6）, interleukin-8, tumor necrosis factor-α, and transformation growth factor-β1]were the secondary outcomes.RESULTS： During the 12-week treatment, treatment and control groups had no adverse reactions.The analysis of the indexes obtained from all patients showed that the therapeutic effect in the treatment group was significantly better than that in the control group because most of the similar probabilities of primary and secondary outcomes were less than 0.05,except for the level of IL-6.CONCLUSION： Bufei granule can treat patients with stable COPD by lowering the frequency of acute exacerbation, improving the quality of life,and alleviating the severity of inflammation.     

Efficacy and safety of puerarin injection in treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy： a systematic review and Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

OBJECTIVE： To systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of puerarin injection in the treatment of diabeticperi pheral neuropathy（DPN）.METHODS： Randomized controlled trials investigating the efficacy of puerarin injection on DPN were searched for in China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, Chinese Scientific Journals Database, Wanfang Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, PubMed, and Cochrane Library from establishment to April 30.Two reviewers independently retrieved and extracted the information.The included studies were assessed by the Cochrane risk of bias and analyzed by Review Manager 5.2 software.RESULTS： Twenty-two studies involving 1664 participants were included. The quality of the studies was found to be relatively low. Meta-analysis showed that puerarin injection combined with western medication was more effective than conventional therapy for rate, nerve conduction velocity（NCV）, and hemorheology index. Six adverse drug reactions（ADRs） from puerarin injection were reported in two studies. Reactions included facial flushing, palpitations, and pain at infusion locations. However,noserious ADRs were reported.CONCLUSION： Puerarin injection was effective for the treatment of DPN. Puerarin can improve the total effective rate, correct NCV that was decreased by diabetes, and improve the hemorheology index.Puerarin was also relatively safe clinically. However,since the articles included in the study were not high-quality, more studies should be conducted to strengthen their findings.     

Effect of Banxiaxiexin Tang on treatment of functional dyspepsia： a Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

OBJECTIVE： To evaluate the efficacy of Banxiaxiex- in Tang compared with Western Medicine in the treatment of functional dyspepsia （FD） through Meta-analysis. METHODS： Literature was searched in the following databases： MEDLINE, Excerpta Medica Database, Chinese Medical Current Contents, China Science and Technology Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. Randomized controlled trials evaluating the efficacy of Banxiaxiexin Tang for the treatment of FD were selected according to certain standards including clear general situation of pa- tients, specific diagnostic criteria, definite clinical outcomes, etc. Articles were evaluated with quality assessment standards in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Meta-analysis was conducted with RevMan 5.0.23 software. RESULTS： Ten articles with a total of 972 patients were included. The comparison of efficacy between Banxiaxiexin Tang and Western Medicine showed a combined effect size [OR=2.75, 95% CI （1.86-4.07）] and combined effect of value ofZ=5.07 （P〈0.000 01 ）, suggesting a significant difference between the groups. CONCLUSION： Banxiaxiexin Tang was more effec- tive than Western Medicine in treating FD.     

Reduning injection for fever,rash, and ulcers in children with mild hand,foot, and mouth disease： a randomized controlled clinical study

OBJECTIVE： To assess the efficacy and safety of Re- duning injection for fever, rash, and ulcers in chil- dren with mild hand, foot, and mouth disease （HFMD）. METHODS： A stratified-block randomized, dou- ble-blind, parallel-controlled, and multicenter clini- cal trial was conducted with 360 patients in five hospitals across China： Quanzhou Children＇s Hospi- tal, Shijiazhuang No. 5 Hospital, Shanghai Public Health Centre, Hunan Provincial Children＇s Hospi- tal, and Kaifeng Children＇s Hospital. Patients were randomized into three groups with 120 in each. Group A was treated with Western Medicine, group B with Reduning injection, a Chinese herbal medi- cine, and group C with both Reduning injection and Western Medicine. Results were compared for treatment efficacy and safety on HFMD. The clinical outcomes were observed as follows： fever and on- set time of antifebrile effect （time to bring the body temperature down 〉0.5~C after medication）; cumu- lative time for fever recovery （body temperature re- covering to normal and lasting more than 24 h without medication）; cumulative time for rash dis- appearance （without new rashes or ulcers appear- ing and the original ones fading away）; and cumula- tive time for mouth ulcer disappearance. RESULTS： For the onset time of the antifebrile ef- fect, there was no statistical difference between groups A and B （P〉O.05） and groups B and C （P〉 0.05）. However, there was a statistical difference be- tween groups A and C （P〈0.05）, and the effect ingroup C was the best. For the cumulative time for rash disappearance, there was no statistical differ- ence between groups A and B （P〉0.05）. There were statistical differences between groups A and C, and groups B and C （P〈0.05）, and the effect in group C was the best. For the cumulative time for mouth ul- cers disappearance, there were no statistical differ- ences among the three groups （P〉0.05）. CONCLUSION： Reduning injection with Western Medicine for symptomatic treatment is most effec- tive for mild HFMD. No adverse reactions were ob- served.     

Chinese herbal medicine for subacute thyroiditis： a systematic re- view of randomized controlled trials

OBJECTIVE： To evaluate the effectiveness and safe- ty of Chinese herbal medicine （CHM） in the treat- ment of subacute thyroiditis. METHODS： Randomized controlled trials found in PubMed, Cochrane Library, and three Chinese data- bases were selected. RevMan 5.2 software was used to analyze the data with relative risk or mean difference, expressed with 95% of confidence inter- val. The quality of trials was assessed and gradedthe quality of evidence with GRADE profiler soft- ware. RESULTS： Twenty one studies were included. CHM was superior to Western Medicine （include predni- sone and NSAIDs） in abating fever, relieving thyroid pain, recovering blood sedimentation, improving thyroid function, and preventing hypothyroidism （P〈0.05）, while no statistical differences were found in eliminating goiter and reducing relapse rate. CHM plus Western Medicine were superior to West- ern Medicine in abating fever, relieving thyroid pain, eliminating goiter, and reducing relapse rate, while no statistical differences （P〉0.05） were found in recovering blood sedimentation and improving thyroid function. The incidence of adverse reac- tions in treatment group was lower than that in control group （relative risk was 0.12 and 95% confi- dence interval was 0.03-0.51）. The methodological quality of trials is generally poor with a high risk of bias. CONCLUSION： CHM （particularly CHM combined with Western Medicine） used to treat subacute thy- roiditis may improve clinical symptoms and signs, reduce relapse rate, and alleviate the side effects of hormones. Due to poor methodological quality of included trials, further more high-quality studies are warranted to confirm the effectiveness and safe- ty of CHM.     

Effectiveness and safety of heat-sensitive moxibustion on bronchial asthma：a Meta-analysis of randomized control trials

OBJECTIVE： To systematically evaluate the effectiveness and safety of heat-sensitive moxibustion（HSM）onasthma.METHODS： Large databases in China and overseas were searched by electronic and manual means to collect information on randomized controlled trials（RCTs）.Two evaluators independently extracted data and evaluated the quality of RCTs according to Cochrane Review Handbook v5.0. RevMan v5.0.20 was used for statisticalanalyses.RESULTS： Fourteen RCTs involving 637 patients were collected.Thirteen RCTs compared the effects of HSM and Western Medicine. After 3-month treatment and after 6-month follow-up, there was no significant difference in effective rate [relative risk（RR）=1.01, 95% CI（0.92, 1.12）, and 1.12,（0.93, 1.36）,respectively], in the asthma control test score of asthma symptoms [weighted mean difference（WMD）=﹣1.54, 95% CI（﹣3.54, 0.47）, and 1.41,（﹣0.48, 3.29）, respectively] and in the forced expiratory volumein 1 second（FEV1）and peak expiratory flow（PEF）. One RCT compared the effect of HSM with warm-suspended moxibustion. After 6-month follow-up, there was a significant difference in FEV1 and PEF [WMD=0.51, 95% CI（0.10, 0.92）, and 1.78,（1.06, 2.50）, respectively]. After 3-month treatment,there was no significant difference between the two groups. One RCT compared the effect of HSM with acupoint application. After 3-month treatment, there was no significant difference in the effectiverate[RR=0.68,95%CI（0.42,1.12）].CONCLUSION： HSM did not show superiority to conventional Western Medicine and acupoint application in terms of curative effects, and may be superior to warm-suspended moxibustion with regard to long-term curative effects. Because of low quality of the included RCTs, this conclusion must be bolstered with higher-quality RCTs.     

Effect of curcumin on rats/mice with diabetic nephropathy： a systematic review and Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

OBJECTIVE： To assess the renal protective effects of curcumin administration ondiabetic rats/mice.METHODS： Databases were searched electronically and conference papers searched manually for search terms to find relevant studies. Articles were assessed independently by two reviewers. Review Manager 5.1 was used fordata analysis.RESULTS： Fourteen randomized controlled experiments were included. Meta-analysis demonstrated that blood sugar levels and kidney weight to body weight ratios in the model group were higher than those in the normal group, and the curcumin group had significantly lower mesangial area to glomerular area ratios compared with the model group, and also lower levels of urinary protein,blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine.CONCLUSION： Curcumin shows protective effects on the kidneys of rats/mice with diabetes.     

Efficacy of Saam acupuncture treatment on improvement of immune cell numbers in cancer patients： a pilot study

OBJECTIVE： To collect preliminary data on the effects of Saam acupuncture with regard to the immunity in cancer patients.METHODS： Ten cancer patients were analyzed for improvements in immunity. Acupuncture was applied at the 5 acupuncture points, Jingqu（LU 8）, Zutonggu（BL 66）, Yanggu（SI 5）, Yangchi（TE 4）, and Zhongwan（CV 12） for 2 weeks with 4 sessions. We assessed the effect of Korean Saam acupuncture on the immune system in cancer patients by measuring particular blood cell subsets, including CD3 ＋,CD4＋, CD8＋, CD19＋, and CD56＋ cells, as well as total white blood cell count, absolute neutrophil count, and fatigue score. The measurement was performed before and after acupuncture and at a 2-week follow-up.RESULTS： There was a statistically significant increase in the number of CD3＋（P=0.023） and CD8＋ cells（P〈0.001） and T-cell subsets, as well as a decrease in the fatigue severity scale（FSS） score（P=0.001） after Saam acupuncture using the 5 acupoints.CONCLUSION： Acupuncture may improve the immune system by increasing the counts of a few immune cells and relieve fatigue in cancer patients by decreasing FSS scores. Although this was a non-controlled study, it constitutes preliminary research investigating the potential effects of Saam acupuncture in increasing the counts of several immune cells in cancer patients.     

Treatment of constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome by focusing on the liver in terms of Traditional Chinese Medicine： a meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE：To assess the efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine（TCM）on constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome by focusing on the liver.METHODS：Databases（domestic and foreign）were searched with the key words＂irritable bowelsyndrome＂,＂constipation＂,and＂Chinese medicine＂;the relevant articles were retrieved and evaluated.Cure rate,＂remarkable efficacy＂,recurrence rate and the incidence of adverse reactions were the outcome indicators.Review Manager ver 5.1 was used for this meta-analysis,and funnel plots used to detect publication bias.RESULTS：Nineteen randomized controlled trials were included and 1510 patients involved.The treatment guided byTCM based on the liver was superior to Western Medicine[odds ratio（OR）=2.46,95%confidence interval（CI）1.80,3.35）],cure rate[OR=2.61,95%CI（1.93,3.52）],remarkable efficacy[OR=2.68,95%CI（1.82,3.95）],recurrence rate[OR=0.19,95%CI（0.12,0.29）]and the incidence of adverse reactions[OR=0.24,95%CI（0.09,0.65）].However,funnel plots showed publication bias.CONCLUSION：Compared with Western Medicine,the treatment of IBS-C based on the liver is significantly better but the results must be treated with caution because publication bias was recorded.     

Safety and efficacy of Danqipiantan capsule for treatment of stroke： a systematic review

OBJECTIVE： To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Danqipiantan capsule （DPC） for the treatment of stroke. METHODS： PubMed, China Science And Technolo- gy Journal Database, Wanfang Database, Chinese periodicals in the China National Knowledge Infra- structure, and the General Hospital of Tianjin Medi- cal University＇s Library were searched until July 2012. Randomized controlled trials （RCTs） and ob- servational studies that reported the use of DPC for treatment of stroke were selected. RESULTS： Eleven articles that included 12 RCTs, and 2 articles that included 3 observational studies were identified. A total of 2590 patients participat- ed in the studies. We found that there was a signifi-cant statistical difference between DPC treatment groups and the control groups in terms of the effec- tive rate [risk ratio （RR）, 1.14; 95% confidence inter- vals （CI）, 1.04, 1.25; P=0.01], FugI-Meyer Assessment Scale [weighted mean difference （WMD）, 9.77; 95% CI （4.84, 14.70）; P=0.00], Barthel Index [WMD=6.40; 95% CI （3.15, 9.65）], and mean flow velocity [WMD= 5.79; 95% CI （1.64, 9.94）]. There were no significant differences for The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale [WMD=0.60; 95% CI （ - 1.09, 2.29）], vi- sual field defects [left visual field： WMD= - 203.10; 95% CI （ - 424.41, 18.21）; right visual field： WMD= - 172.60; 95% CI （ - 409.29, 64.09）] or the functional independence measure [WMD= - 7.90; 95% CI （ - 16.64, 0.84）]. Seven articles that included eight RCTs reported the safety of DPC treatment. Two ar- ticles that included three observational studies also reported beneficial effects for DPC. Because the Chinese studies were of poor methodological quali- ty, and most of the sample sizes were small, our analysis was likely affected by bias. CONCLUSION： DPC has a beneficial effect and is relatively safe when used for the treatment of stroke.     

Efficacy and safety of Traditional Chinese Medicine for the treatment of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome：a systematic review

OBJECTIVE： To systematically review the efficacy and safety ofTraditional Chinese Medicine（TCM） in- terventions, compared with control interventions（placebo or conventional Western medical thera- py）, in the treatment of acquired immunodeficien- cy syndrome（AIDS）. METHODS： Electronic databases including PubMed, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure（CNKI）, and Wanfang Da- ta were searched to identify relevant randomized controlled trials（RCTs） published as of May 2012. Studies were selected according to the specified in- clusion and exclusion criteria and then subjected to methodological quality assessment, data extrac- tion, and meta-analysis according to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions.RESULTS： Twelve RCTs involving 881 patients with AIDS were included. Methodological quality assess- ment showed that two were high-quality, two were moderate-quality, and eight were low-quality. Me- ta-analysis showed that TCM interventions were as- sociated with significantly reduced plasma viral load compared with placebo [odds ratio OR=2.46, 95% confidence interval CI（1.02, 5.94）; P=0.04]. However, the reductions in plasma viral load signifi- cantly favored conventional Western medical thera- py alone over integrated traditional Chinese and Western medical therapy [OR=0.16, 95% CI（0.05, 0.55）; P=0.004]. Patients receiving TCM interven- tions had significantly higher CD4＋ T lymphocyte counts compared with those on placebo [OR=2.54, 95% CI（1.40, 4.60）; P=0.002]. In addition, TCM inter- ventions were significantly more likely to have im- proved clinical symptoms [OR=2.82, 95% CI（1.85, 4.31）; P0.00001]. TCM interventions conferred a similar risk of adverse events（AEs） compared with control interventions [OR=1.87, 95%CI（0.58, 6.01）; P=0.29]. CONCLUSION： Current evidence suggests that TCM interventions are significantly more effective than placebo in reducing plasma viral load and in- creasing CD4＋ T lymphocyte count in patients with AIDS. When compared with conventional Western medical therapy, TCM interventions were signifi- cantly less effective in reducing plasma viral load, although they were associated with a higher per- centage of patients with improved symptoms. Pa- tients receiving TCM interventions did not seem to be at an increased risk of AEs.