Efficacy and Safety of Integrated Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine on the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Meta-Analysis
Joint Authors
Fu, Ling
Zhou, Xueping
Xing, Qi
Yu, Zhichao
Source
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Issue
Vol. 2020, Issue 2020 (31 Dec. 2020), pp.1-15, 15 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2020-04-02
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
15
Main Subjects
Abstract EN
Objective.
Integrated therapy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine (WM) has gradually been applied to the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Recently published studies have provided a wealth of data and information about the effectiveness of combination treatments, but high-quality evidence-based meta-analysis on this issue is not available yet.
This study was conducted to compare and evaluate the efficacy and safety of the integrated therapy for RA.
Methods.
PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched up to January 2020.
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared the efficacy and safety of integrative TCM-WM with WM alone for RA were included.
The outcome measures contained therapeutic effects (TEs), tender joint count (TJC), swollen joint count (SJC), duration of morning stiffness (DMS), grip strength (GS), disease activity score in 28 joints (DAS28), rheumatoid factor (RF), anti-cyclic peptide containing citrulline (anti-CCP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), and adverse events (AEs) to assess the efficacy and safety of different treatments.
Results.
A total of 20 RCTs with 2269 patients met the inclusion criteria.
TCM used in these studies included Chinese herbal decoctions and tablets or capsules made from herbs and their extracts, while WM included disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and glucocorticoids (GC).
Compared with patients receiving WM treatment alone, patients with integrative TCM-WM treatment showed better TEs (OR = 3.03, 95% CI [2.36, 3.88]).
The integrative treatment group showed reductions in TJC (MD = −1.17, 95% CI [−2.12, −0.21]), SJC (MD = −0.87, 95% CI [−1.85, 0.10]), DMS (SMD = −0.69, 95% CI [−0.98, −0.41]), DAS28 (MD = −0.43, 95% CI [−0.57, −0.29]), RF (SMD = −0.59, 95% CI [−0.91, −0.27]), anti-CCP (SMD = −0.21, 95% CI [−0.36, −0.06]), ESR (MD = −8.36, 95% CI [−12.60, −4.12]), and CRP (MD = −6.73, 95% CI [−9.38, −4.08]), and increment in GS (SMD = 0.12, 95% CI [−0.63, 0.87]).
AEs, especially gastrointestinal disorders, abnormal liver function, leukopenia, skin allergies and rashes, headaches and dizziness, and alopecia, significantly decreased (OR = 0.37, 95% CI [0.29, 0.47]) in the integrative treatment group.
Conclusions.
The findings of this meta-analysis indicate that integrative TCM-WM could obtain effective and safe results in the treatment of RA.
Using TCM as an adjunctive therapy in RA has great prospects for further development.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Xing, Qi& Fu, Ling& Yu, Zhichao& Zhou, Xueping. 2020. Efficacy and Safety of Integrated Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine on the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Meta-Analysis. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine،Vol. 2020, no. 2020, pp.1-15.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1156112
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Xing, Qi…[et al.]. Efficacy and Safety of Integrated Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine on the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Meta-Analysis. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine No. 2020 (2020), pp.1-15.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1156112
American Medical Association (AMA)
Xing, Qi& Fu, Ling& Yu, Zhichao& Zhou, Xueping. Efficacy and Safety of Integrated Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine on the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Meta-Analysis. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2020. Vol. 2020, no. 2020, pp.1-15.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1156112
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-1156112