Manipulation for degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis: A systematic review of randomized controlled trialsOA

Objective: To assess the effectiveness and safety of manipulation intervention for degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis(DLS).Methods: This is a systematic review and meta-analysis. A full-scale retrieval method was performed until February 1, 2021, including nine databases. The homogeneity of different studies was summarized using the Review Manager. The quality of studies was determined with the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool.The evidence quality was graded with the Grading of Recommendations, Ass...     

Comparative efficacy of traditional Chinese herbal injection for chronic renal failure: A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trialsOA

Objective: To conduct a systematic review and network meta-analysis(NMA) for the comparison of the efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal injection(CHI) combined with Western medicine(WM) and WM monotherapy for chronic renal failure(CRF).Methods: Eight databases were searched from inception to August 30, 2022. Randomized controlled trials(RCTs) regarding the comparison of CHI-WM combination therapy and WM monotherapy were included. Literature search, risk-of-bias assessment, and data extraction w...     

Effectiveness and safety of seven oral Chinese patent medicines as adjuvant therapy for cancer-related anemia: A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trialsOA

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of seven oral Chinese patent medicines(CPMs) as adjuvant therapy for cancer-related anemia(CRA) by network meta-analysis(NMA).Methods: A literature search to obtain randomized controlled trials(RCTs) of seven oral CPMs in the adjuvant treatment of CRA was conducted in multiple databases from the inception to April 2022. The Rev Man5.3 and R 4.1.1 software were used for NMA.Results: We ultimately included 29 RCTs with 2140 patients. Traditional ...     

A scoping review on traditional medicine for bruxismOA

Objective: To investigate the current evidence on traditional medicine in managing bruxism and its clinical efficacy.Methods: A search was conducted in nine databases to identify potential eligible articles published from the date of inception until August 3, 2022. All clinical studies that used traditional medicine of any type in treating bruxism were eligible for inclusion. Two authors performed data extraction and quality assessments independently. Retrieved data were tabulated and discussed ...     

Current status of outcome reporting in randomized controlled trials of traditional Chinese medicine for mammary gland hyperplasia: A systematic reviewOA

Objective: To assess outcome indicators in clinical trials and provide a reference for establishing a core outcome set to treat hyperplasia of mammary gland(HMG) with traditional Chinese medicine(TCM).Methods: Eight online databases were searched from their inception to December 31, 2022, to assess outcomes reported in randomized controlled trials(RCTs) of HMG treated with TCM. The quality of the included studies was assessed according to the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool. All outcomes w...     

Instruction for AuthorsOA

<正>Chinese Herbal Medicines (CHM) is an official international journal sponsored by Tianjin Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Institute of Medicinal Plant Development,Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.The purpose of CHM is to provide a forum for the studies on Chinese herbal medicines,phytomedicines,and natural products as well.The journal will accept the following contributions:letters,original articles,review papers,short communications,     

Instruction for AuthorsOA

<正>Chinese Herbal Medicines(CHM) is an official international journal sponsored by Tianjin Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Institute of Medicinal Plant Development,Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.The purpose of CHM is to provide a forum for the studies on Chinese herbal medicines,phytomedicines,and natural products as well.     

Traditional Chinese medicines for non-small cell lung cancer: Therapies and mechanismsOA

The most common subtype of lung cancer is non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC), which has a poor prognosis and seriously threatens the health of human beings. The multidisciplinary comprehensive treatment model has gradually become the mainstream of NSCLC treatment. Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) can be used effectively either as an adjunctive therapy or alone throughout the NSCLC therapy,which has a significant impact on survival, quality of life, and reduction of toxicity. Therefore, this pape...     

Pharmacodynamic advantages and characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine in prevention and treatment of ischemic strokeOA

Ischemic stroke(IS) is a severe cerebrovascular disease with a high incidence, mortality, and disability rate. The first-line treatment for IS is the use of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator(r-t PA).Regrettably, numerous patients encounter delays in treatment due to the narrow therapeutic window and the associated risk of hemorrhage. Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) has exhibited distinct advantages in preventing and treating IS. TCM enhances cerebral microcirculation, alleviates neurolo...     

Common traditional Chinese medicine therapies for diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome: An overview of systematic reviewsOA

Objective: To critically evaluate and summarize the methodological quality of systematic reviews(SRs)and present objective and important outcomes on the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) therapies, including Chinese herbal medicine(CHM), acupuncture, and moxibustion, for diarrheapredominant irritable bowel syndrome(IBS-D).Methods: We conducted a comprehensive literature search for SRs in 7 databases until April 16, 2022.Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed the...     

中医药干预病毒性肺炎随机对照试验的系统评价

目的:系统评价现有中医药治疗病毒性肺炎随机对照试验(RCT),为今后治疗病毒性肺炎提供证据.方法:检索7个文献数据库,筛选相关RCT.评价纳入RCT方法学质量,总结各中医药措施的有效性和安全性.结果:纳入25个RCT,涉及13种中医药干预措施.低、中、高偏倚风险文献分别有5、13和7个RCT.有效性分析结果显示:清肺口...     

中药治疗急性脑出血：随机对照试验meta分析

目的：对中药治疗急性脑出血的临床疗效及安全性进行系统评价。方法检索 PubMed数据库、中国期刊全文数据库（CNKI）、中国学术期刊数据库(万方数据库)、中国生物医学文献数据库(SinoMed)、Cochrane图书馆中药治疗脑出血临床研究的相关文献,选取前瞻性临床随机对照研究,应用改良Jadad评分法进行质量评价,对符合入选标准的文献进行meta分析。结果最终纳入69项研究,分析结果显示,三七、刺五加、川芎嗪、脑血疏治疗脑出血患者的有效率,治疗组与对照组比较差异有统计学意义;中药治疗组与对照组死亡率比较,差异无统计学意义[Peto-OR＝0.37,95%CI（0.26,0.54）];神经功能缺损评分显示,三七、丹参、清开灵、凉血通瘀方可改善脑出血神经功能缺损[SMD＝-0.46,95%CI（-0.56,-0.35）];丹参、大黄、刺五加、清开灵、凉血通瘀方可改善脑出血血肿体积的吸收情况,[SMD＝-0.98,95% CI（-1.32,-0.63）]。结论中药制剂治疗脑出血未增加患者死亡率及不良反应的发生;三七、丹参、清开灵、凉血通瘀方可能具有改善神经功能评分作用;丹参、大黄、刺五加、清开灵、凉血通瘀方具有促进血肿吸收作用。     

Chinese herbal medicine for subacute thyroiditis: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials

Objective

To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) in the treatment of subacute thyroiditis.

Methods

Randomized controlled trials found in PubMed, Cochrane Library, and three Chinese databases were selected. RevMan 5.2 software was used to analyze the data with relative risk or mean difference, expressed with 95% of confidence interval. The quality of trials was assessed and graded the quality of evidence with GRADE profiler software.

Results

Twenty one studies were included. CHM was superior to Western Medicine (include prednisone 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 Western 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 reactions in treatment group was lower than that in control group (relative risk was 0.12 and 95% confidence 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 thyroiditis 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 safety of CHM.     

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 Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) used alone to treat lumbar disc herniation (LDH).

METHORDS

A literature search of the following electronic databases from their inception to February 2013 was conducted: Chinese Biomedical databases, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, China Science and Technology Journal Database, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, MEDLINE, and EMBASE. Randomized controlled trials where CHM had been used to treat LDH were selected. Data extraction, quality assessment, and data analysis were carried out by two independent 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 Western Medicine [OR=2.81, 95% CI (1.27, 6.18); OR=3.34, 95% CI (1.92, 5.79); OR=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 physiotherapy and placebo groups, [OR=3.02, 95% CI (1.08, 8.46); and OR=2.67, 95% CI (1.26, 5.64), respectively], whereas one study reported no difference 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 another 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 significantly [OR=0.10, 95% CI (0.01, 1.85); OR=0.19, 95% CI (0.01, 4.07); and OR=0.07, 95% CI (0.00, 1.32)].

Conclusion

CHM may be more effective than other interventions for LDH; however, methodological weaknesses in the studies assessed in this review prevent a definitive conclusion. More high-quality large-scale studies are required to clarify this matter.     

Chinese herbal medicine for COVID-19: Current evidence with systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundThere is currently no drug or therapy that cures COVID-19, a highly contagious and life-threatening disease.ObjectiveThis systematic review and meta-analysis summarized contemporary studies that report the use of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) to treat COVID-19.Search strategySix electronic databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, Wanfang Data and China National Knowledge Infrastructure) were searched from their beginning to May 15, 2020 with the following search terms: traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, COVID-19, new coronavirus pneumonia, SARS-CoV-2, and randomized controlled trial.Inclusion criteriaRandomized controlled trials (RCTs) from peer-reviewed journals and non-reviewed publications were included. Further, included RCTs had a control group that was given standard care (SC; such as conventional Western medicine treatments or routine medical care), and a treatment group that was given SC plus CHM.Data extraction and analysisTwo evaluators screened and collected literature independently; information on participants, study design, interventions, follow-up and adverse events were extracted, and risk of bias was assessed. The primary outcomes included scores that represented changes in symptoms and signs over the course of treatment. Secondary outcomes included the level of inflammatory markers, improvement of pneumonia confirmed by computed tomography (CT), and adverse events. Dichotomous data were expressed as risk ratio or hazard ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI); where time-to-event analysis was used, outcomes were expressed as odds ratio with 95% CI. Continuous data were expressed as difference in means (MD) with 95% CI, and standardized mean difference (SMD) was used when different outcome scales were pooled.ResultsSeven original studies, comprising a total of 732 adults, were included in this meta-analysis. Compared to SC alone, CHM plus SC had a superior effect on the change of symptom and sign score (−1.30 by SMD, 95% CI [−2.43, −0.16]; 3 studies; n = 261, P = 0.03), on inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP, mg/L; −11.82 by MD, 95% CI [−17.95, −5.69]; 5 studies; n = 325, P = 0.0002), on number of patients with improved lung CT scans (1.34 by risk ratio, 95% CI [1.19, 1.51]; 4 studies; n = 489, P < 0.00001). No significant adverse events were recorded in the included RCTs.ConclusionCurrent evidence shows that CHM, as an adjunct treatment with standard care, helps to improve treatment outcomes in COVID-19 cases.     

中药口服治疗非酒精性脂肪肝临床随机对照试验的系统评价

目的:系统评价中药口服治疗非酒精性脂肪肝的临床疗效和安全性。方法:参考Cochrane协作网系统评价的方法,检索4个数据库中有关中药口服治疗非酒精性脂肪肝的临床随机对照文献。根据纳入标准,由两位评价员独立进行文献筛选、资料提取和交叉核对。采用Jadad评分标准评价文献质量,疗效判定采用软件RevMan4.2进行异质性检验、Meta分析和敏感性分析。对不良反应进行描述性分析。对发表偏倚情况进行漏斗图分析。结果:有8篇文献共743例患者纳入。Jadad评分结果显示只有3篇文献为较高质量研究。在改善TC、BMI指标方面,治疗组疗效优于对照组;在改善CT、B超指标方面,两组差异无统计学意义;在改善临床总有效率、TG、AST、ALT、临床症状/证候方面,两组疗效不能确定。中医药治疗脂肪肝的安全性较高。结论:目前尚无足够的证据证明中药口服比西药或安慰剂口服治疗非酒精性脂肪肝更有效。尚需要设计多中心、大样本的随机双盲对照试验,并加强中医药疗效评价指标研究以提高证据强度。进一步规范不良反应的报道。     

Chinese herbal medicine for incomplete immune reconstruction in patients with AIDS undergoing antiretroviral treatment: A systematic review of randomized trials

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) for incomplete immune reconstruction in patients with HIV/AIDS.MethodsEight electronic databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the use of CHM for patients with HIV/AIDS with incomplete immune reconstruction. Outcomes included CD4⁺ cell count, quality of life, and adverse events/effects. The Cochrane Risk of Bias was employed to evaluate the methodological quality of the included RCTs.ResultsWe identified 13 eligible RCTs, with an overall high risk of bias, on 10 different CHMs. There was a significant increase in CD4⁺ cell count after the use of Jianpi Yiqi medicinal paste for 3 months; tripterygium glycosides tablets (TGTs) for 3 months (mean difference [MD] 52.63 cells/μL, 95% confidence interval [CI, 46.98, 58.28]), 6, 9, and 12 months; Wenshen Jianpi granules for 6 months; Shenling Fuzheng capsules for 6 months (MD 49.53 cells/μL, 95% CI [8.45, 90.61]) and 12 months; Aikeqing granules for 9 months (MD 61.51 cells/μL, 95% CI [16.25, 106.77]) and 12 months; Guipi decoction for 12 months; Mianyi No.2 granules (JT) for 12 and 18 months; and Chinese medicine granules for 18 months. The increase in the mean difference of CD4⁺ cell count from 6 to 18 months was larger in Chinese medicine granules and Mianyi No.2 granules (JT). Guipi decoction and Jianpi Qushi decoction improved the Karnofsky score. Four RCTs reported the outcome of adverse events/effects, while four cases of minor adverse effects were reported in the TGTs group.ConclusionJianpi Yiqi medicinal paste, Wenshen Jianpi granules, Shenling Fuzheng capsules, Aikeqing granules, Guipi decoction, and TGTs may be effective in increasing CD4⁺ within 12 months, and Mianyi No.2 granules (JT) and Chinese medicine granules may show long-term effects. High-quality large RCTs on the effectiveness and safety of CHMs are still warranted.