scholarly journals Aidi Injection, a Traditional Chinese Medicine Injection, Could Be Used as an Adjuvant Drug to Improve Quality of Life of Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 153473541881079 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang Xie ◽  
Zhihua Cui ◽  
Kai Peng ◽  
Xiehai Zhou ◽  
Quan Xia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Traditional Chinese Medicine ◽  
Propensity Score ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Tumor Type ◽  
Improvement Rate ◽  
Aidi Injection

Background: Clinical research has paid increasing attention to quality of life (QoL) in recent years, but the assessment of QoL is difficult, hampered by the subjectivity, complexity, and adherence of patients and physicians. According to previous studies, QoL in cancer patients is related to performance status (PS) and influenced by chemotherapy-related toxicity. Aidi injection, a traditional Chinese medicine injection, is used as an adjuvant drug to enhance effectiveness of chemotherapy. The study aims to investigate whether Aidi injection could improve QoL by improving PS and reducing toxicity caused by chemotherapy. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed at the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medicine University. Data of consecutive patients diagnosed with cancers between January 2014 and June 2017 were retrieved from the electronic medical record system. After a 1:1 propensity score match, patients were then divided into 2 groups based on the therapies used, that is, Aidi injection combined with chemotherapy and chemotherapy alone, and the PS, chemotherapy-related toxicity, and combined medication information were compared. The effect of different dosages of Aidi injection on patients was further explored. Results: A total of 3200 patients were included in this study. Aidi injection combined with chemotherapy exhibited significantly benefit in PS ( P < .001, odds ratio [OR] 3.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.4-4.8) compared with chemotherapy alone after adjusting for the factors that affect PS. The improvement rate of PS in the Aidi group was significantly higher than in the control group across the stratification of gender, age, tumor type, TNM stage, body mass index, nodal metastasis, prior chemotherapy, chemotherapy regimens, other Chinese tradition medicines, and chemotherapy cycle. Meanwhile, Aidi injection used synchronously with chemotherapeutic drugs could decrease the incident rate of damage to liver and kidney function, myelosuppression, and gastrointestinal reactions caused by chemotherapy. Conclusion: It was indicated that the integrative approach combining chemotherapy with Aidi injection, especially with the conventional dosage of Aidi injection, had significant benefit on QoL in cancer patients.

scholarly journals Effects of Integrated Chinese Traditional Medicine and Conventional Western Medicine on the Quality of Life of Breast Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

2022 ◽  
Vol 2022 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Xue Bai ◽  
Na Ta ◽  
Guo-Hua Gong ◽  
Bin Zhang ◽  
Cheng-Xi Wei
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Traditional Chinese Medicine ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Western Medicine ◽  
Adverse Reactions ◽  
Rating Scales ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients

Background. Traditional Chinese medicine has been widely used, in conjunction with conventional Western medicine, in clinical practice around the world to treat breast cancer. The study systematically reviewed and summarized the quality of life of breast cancer patients treated with integrated treatment method vs. conventional Western medicine. Methods. Eight databases including PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Biology Medicine Disc, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, and Wanfang Data knowledge service platform were searched in this study. The retrieval period was set from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2020. Results. Twenty-two high-quality publications were included in this study. The total sample size was 1689 patients including 844 in the intervention group receiving traditional Chinese medicine combined with conventional Western medicine and 845 patients in the control group receiving conventional Western medicine only. Compared with the single-used conventional Western medicine treatment, an integrated approach to treat breast cancer can increase quality of life measured by rating scales (SMD = 1.29, 95% CI (1.07, 1.52) and P = 0.01 ) and ranking scales (RR = 1.53, 95% CI (1.39 1.68) and P = 0.02 ) and also decrease adverse reactions measured by rating scales (Z = 10.89, P < 0.05 ; Group 1: I2 = 9.0%, P = 0.258 , SMD = 1.03; and Group 2: I2 = 31.6%, P = 0.199 , SMD = 1.56). For further analysis, chemotherapy with epirubicin exhibited higher quality of life than the chemotherapy without epirubicin among breast cancer patients [Z = 19.80, P < 0.05 ; Group 1: I2 = 62.4%, P = 0.070 , SMD = 1.61; and Group 2: I2 = 9.0%, P = 0.359 , SMD = 1.04]. Despite the heterogeneity, which was due to a portion of relative low-quality literature or other factors, the results were satisfactory. In terms of secondary results, the patients with lower tumor markers (CEA and CA153) had better efficiency in quality of life with a statistically significant difference (SMD = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.10,1.67) for rating scales. In addition, secondary results related to high incidence of gastrointestinal adverse reactions (RR = 1.33, 95% CI (1.20, 1.48)) and the traditional Chinese medicine syndrome (RR = 1.50, 95% CI (1.28, 1.80))showed lower quality of life in the intervention group than the control group for ranking scales. Conclusion. Traditional Chinese medicine, when used in conjunction with the conventional Western medicine, could be an effective way in improving the quality of life and alleviating incidence of associated adverse symptoms such as gastrointestinal adverse reactions, value of tumor markers, and the incidence of traditional Chinese medicine syndrome. Further investigation of larger and methodologically sound trials with longer follow-up periods and appropriate comparison groups is needed.

scholarly journals Functional fitness and quality of life of elderly Lian Gong, Tai Chi, and Qigong practitioners

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Márcia Regina Martinez Tedeschi ◽  
Tatiane Assone ◽  
Mauro Ferreira ◽  
Káren Mendes Jorge de Souza
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Traditional Chinese Medicine ◽  
The Body ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Case Group ◽  
Functional Fitness ◽  
And Control ◽  
Body Practices

Abstract BACKGROUND Long-term regular physical activity, such as body practices of Traditional Chinese Medicine, seems to be an important habit for maintaining the functional fitness, independence and quality of life of elderly individuals. However, scientific knowledge production concerning assessment of such practices, specifically for the elderly population, focusing on functional fitness and quality of life, is still modest. Moreover, there is a lack of studies with long-term follow-up and control groups. Therefore, this study aims to compare the parameters of functional fitness and the dimensions of quality of life of elderly participants and non-participants in the body practices of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Longer adherence time, shorter adherence time and control group have been considered. METHODS This is an observational epidemiological case-control study carried out with 118 elderly individuals (≥ 60 years). The case group was represented by 59 elderly people practicing the body practices of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and they were subdivided into two groups, according to their median adherence time (< 24 months and ≥ 24 months). The control group was composed of 59 participants who were not participating in physical activity programs or guided body practices. Collection was carried out in four Traditional Medicine Specialized Units of the Municipal Health Office of the city of São Paulo. Sociodemographic and functional variables were collected. Quality of life was measured by Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). For data analysis, a univariate logistic regression and the Kruskal Wallis test have been performed. RESULTS When assessing quality of life, favorable results were found for the case group, with longer (≥ 24 months) adherence time in the domains of bodily pain (p = 0.003), vitality (p = 0.021), role emotional (p = 0.034), and mental health (p = 0.020). A better result was observed in the case group, with longer (≥ 24 months) adherence time in the functional 30-second chair stand test (p = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS The body practices of Traditional Chinese Medicine can contribute to quality of life, functional fitness, and lower limb strength.

Effect of Cantharidins in Chemotherapy for Hepatoma: A Retrospective Cohort Study

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (03) ◽  
pp. 561-567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Yu-Zhen Ma ◽  
Lei Song ◽  
Chen-Hua Wang ◽  
Tong-Gang Qi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Traditional Chinese Medicine ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Karnofsky Score ◽  
Improvement Rate ◽  
Wbc Count ◽  
Transcatheter Hepatic Arterial Chemoembolization ◽  
Arterial Chemoembolization

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of cantharidins, a traditional Chinese medicine, in chemotherapy for the treatment of hepatoma. From August 2011 to December 2012, 96 patients with hepatoma, who were eligible for transcatheter hepatic arterial chemoembolization and received cantharidins, were selected for comparison with the control group of 95 patients without cantharidins. The treatment effect, clinical symptoms and adverse effects were analyzed. The results of the study showed that the cantharidins group had a higher overall efficient rate than the control group (p < 0.001). The improvement rate of the Karnofsky score in the cantharidins group was significantly higher than that of the control group (p = 0.014). In the cantharidins group, there was a decrease in white blood cell (WBC) count and gastrointestinal response rates were lower than those of the control group (p < 0.05). Therefore, the traditional Chinese medicine cantharidins showed effects of easing the progress of liver cancer, relieving side effects of chemotherapy and improving the quality of life in the treatment of hepatoma.

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