scholarly journals Chinese Herbal Medicine Used With or Without Conventional Western Therapy for COVID-19: An Evidence Review of Clinical Studies

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi-Bing Liang ◽  
Ying-Ying Zhang ◽  
Chen Shen ◽  
Chang-Hao Liang ◽  
Bao-Yong Lai ◽  
...  

Objective: To present the evidence of the therapeutic effects and safety of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) used with or without conventional western therapy for COVID-19.Methods: Clinical studies on the therapeutic effects and safety of CHM for COVID-19 were included. We summarized the general characteristics of included studies, evaluated methodological quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using the Cochrane risk of bias tool, analyzed the use of CHM, used Revman 5.4 software to present the risk ratio (RR) or mean difference (MD) and their 95% confidence interval (CI) to estimate the therapeutic effects and safety of CHM.Results: A total of 58 clinical studies were identified including RCTs (17.24%, 10), non-randomized controlled trials (1.72%, 1), retrospective studies with a control group (18.97%, 11), case-series (20.69%, 12) and case-reports (41.38%, 24). No RCTs of high methodological quality were identified. The most frequently tested oral Chinese patent medicine, Chinese herbal medicine injection or prescribed herbal decoction were: Lianhua Qingwen granule/capsule, Xuebijing injection and Maxing Shigan Tang. In terms of aggravation rate, pooled analyses showed that there were statistical differences between the intervention group and the comparator group (RR 0.42, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.82, six RCTs; RR 0.38, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.64, five retrospective studies with a control group), that is, CHM plus conventional western therapy appeared better than conventional western therapy alone in reducing aggravation rate. In addition, compared with conventional western therapy, CHM plus conventional western therapy had potential advantages in increasing the recovery rate and shortening the duration of fever, cough and fatigue, improving the negative conversion rate of nucleic acid test, and increasing the improvement rate of chest CT manifestations and shortening the time from receiving the treatment to the beginning of chest CT manifestations improvement. For adverse events, pooled data showed that there were no statistical differences between the CHM and the control groups.Conclusion: Current low certainty evidence suggests that there maybe a tendency that CHM plus conventional western therapy is superior to conventional western therapy alone. The use of CHM did not increase the risk of adverse events.

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunxiao Wu ◽  
Jingchun Zhang ◽  
Yingke Zhao ◽  
Jing Chen ◽  
Yue Liu

Background.Blood pressure variability (BPV) independent of average blood pressure is related to cardiovascular damage. Meanwhile, BPV is also associated with measures of endothelial injury. Decoction, a traditional used form of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), is inconvenient to prepare, carry, and store. Dispensing granules is now developing as an alternative to decoction, but the evidence supporting its clinical efficacy the same as decoction remains unclear.Objective.To examine the therapeutic effects on mean blood pressure (MBP), blood pressure variability, and endothelial function by giving Bushen Qinggan Formula, a compound Chinese Herbal Medicine and also to evaluate the difference in efficacy between decoction and granule.Methods.A total of 150 patients with hypertension were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive the placebo, Bushen Qinggan decoction, or Bushen Qinggan granule in addition to the standard medications (amlodipine-5 mg/d) for the treatment of essential hypertension (EH). The outcome was the reduction in the MBP and BPV and also included changes in the endothelial markers including endothelin-1 (ET-1) and nitric oxide (NO) after 8 weeks of treatment.Results.Compared with the control group, the Bushen Qinggan decoction and granule groups had significant improvement (P<0.01) in BPV and endothelial founction. The level of BPV and endothelial function between decoction and granule group had no significant difference (P>0.05).Conclusion.Based on the standard treatment, Bushen Qinggan Formula further improved BPV and endothelial function. The efficacy of Bushen Qinggan decoction and granule is similar in improving BPV and endothelial function. However, no significant antihypertensive effects could be demonstrated.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Shen ◽  
Si Ra Gwak ◽  
Zhen Yang Cui ◽  
Jong Cheon Joo ◽  
Soo Jung Park

Background: Cervical cancer is the fourth most common malignant tumor among women worldwide. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Astragalus-containing Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) combined with chemotherapy (CT) for the treatment of cervical cancer.Methods: Ten electronic databases including PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Korean databases, and Chinese medical databases, were systematically searched up to July 2020. All randomized controlled trials using Astragalus-containing CHM combined with CT to treat cervical cancer were included.Results: A total of 19 trials were included in the analysis. Compared with the control group, the Astragalus-containing CHM combined with CT group showed a significantly increased tumor response (complete and partial response (CR and PR)) (risk ratio [RR] = 1.25, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.17–1.33, p &lt; 0.00001) and Karnofsky performance score (KPS) (standardized mean difference [SMD] = 1.81, 95% CI: 1.46–2.17, p &lt; 0.00001). This group also displayed remarkably reduced CT toxicity.Conclusion: Our study suggests that Astragalus-containing CHM might be a potential option for cervical cancer to enhance the curative efficacy and reduce CT toxicity.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bonan Hou ◽  
Rui Liu ◽  
Zhen Qin ◽  
Dan Luo ◽  
Qi Wang ◽  
...  

Objective. Myelosuppression is a common side effect in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has shown promise in alleviating myelosuppression. Method. We searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from seven databases without language restriction. We included RCTs in adults, in which hematological toxicity was measured according to WHO criteria and control group underwent chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy and the treatment group was given oral CHM. Results. We searched 1021 articles from the date of databases inception to October 7, 2016. We selected 14 articles for the final analysis. Pooled data showed that CHM significantly decreased the suppression rate of leukocytes, neutrophils, hemoglobin, and platelets compared with the control group, particularly in grade III-IV toxicity (leukocytes: RR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.33–0.56; neutrophils: RR = 0.39, 95% CI = 0.27–0.58; hemoglobin: RR = 0.33, 95% CI = 0.18–0.61; platelets: RR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.39–0.95). Conclusions. CHM as an adjuvant can alleviate myelosuppression induced by chemotherapy or radiotherapy, reduce grade III-IV toxicity, and maintain therapeutic dose and treatment cycle. However, due to heterogeneity and publication bias, the results should be interpreted with caution and validated by conducting strictly designed multicenter RCTs of high quality and large scale.


1989 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 1003-1013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiromi KOBAYASHI ◽  
Masamitsu ISHII ◽  
Tsukasa TANII ◽  
Takeshi KOHNO ◽  
Toshio HAMADA

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yafang Guo ◽  
Hong Lu ◽  
Jing Gan ◽  
Dongdong Li ◽  
Jiandong Gao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Jiangniaosuan formula (JNSF) is commonly used in China for treating hyperuricemia, but there is little research-based evidence to support its use. This randomized controlled trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of JNSF.Methods: A total of 72 patients with hyperuricemia will be selected and randomly assigned in a ratio of 1:2 to receive either Western medicine i.e., febuxostat 40 mg (WG group; n = 24) or Chinese herbal medicine group, i.e., Jiangniaosuan formula + febuxostat 20 mg (WJNSG; n = 48). After 12 weeks, the WJNSG will be randomly divided into two groups of 24 patients each; one group (WJNSG; n = 24)still will receive febuxostat 20 mg + Jiangniaosuan formula and the other group(JNSG; n = 24) will continue to receive Jiangniaosuan formula+Placebo. Participants will be followed up at 4-week intervals. The primary outcome will be the change in serum uric acid level, and the secondary outcome will be the change in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndrome scores. Serum creatinine, blood glucose, and insulin levels will also be measured.Discussion: We hypothesize that patients with hyperuricemia will benefit from JNSF. This study will provide evidence-based recommendations for clinicians.Dissemination: The results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and disseminated by academic conferences.Trial registration : This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number ChiCTR2000041083. 22 Registered on 3 May 2021.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document