Effectiveness of Acupoint Application in Patients with Pharyngeal Pain: Evidence from CHUNBO, A Prospective Real-World Study / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To assess the outcomes after acupoint application in patients with pharyngeal pain in a real-world settings, and analyze the characteristics of effective population and prescription characteristics of acupoint application.@*METHODS@#Based on CHUNBO platform, patients with pharyngeal pain who were candidates for acupoint application on the basis of physician-evaluation, were enrolled in a nationwide, prospective, 69-week multicenter observational study from August 2020 to February 2022. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to match the confounding factors and the association rules were used to analyze the characteristics of effective population and prescription characteristics of acupoint application. Outcome assessments included the disappearance rate of pharyngeal pain (within 3, 7, and 14 days), disappearance time of pharyngeal pain, as well as adverse events.@*RESULTS@#Of 7,699 enrolled participants, 6,693 (86.9%) received acupoint application and 1,450 (21.7%) with non-acupoint application. After PSM, there were 1,004 patients each in the application group (AG) and non-application group (NAG). The disappearance rate of pharyngeal pain in the AG at 3, 7, and 14 days were all higher than those in the NAG (P<0.05). The disappearance time of pharyngeal pain in the AG were shorter than that in the NAG (logrank P<0.001, hazard ratio=1.51, 95% confidence interval: 1.41-1.63). The median age of effective cases was 4 years, mainly 3-6 years old (40.21%). The disappearance rate of pharyngeal pain in the application group with tonsil diseases was 2.19 times higher than that in the NAG (P<0.05). The commonly used acupoints for the effective cases were Tiantu (RN 22), Shenque (RN 8) and Dazhui (DU 14). The commonly used herbs for the effective cases were Natrii sulfas, Radix et Rhizoma Rhei, and Herba Ephedrae. Among them, Natrii sulfas was applied to RN 8 most frequently (support 84.39%). A total of 1,324 (17.2%) patients experienced AEs, and mainly occurred in the AG, with significant difference in the incidence of AEs between goups (P<0.05). All AEs reported were the first grade, and the average regression days of AEs was 2.8 days.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Acupoint application in patients with pharyngeal pain resulted in improved effective rate and shortened duration, especially children aged 3-6 years old, and those with tonsil diseases. Acupoint of RN 22, RN 8 and DU 14, Natrii sulfas, Radix et Rhizoma Rhei, and Herba Ephedrae were the most commonly used herbs in the treatment of pharyngeal pain.

Chinese Medicine for Alzheimer's Disease: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the effificacy of oral Chinese medicine (CM) in comparison with donepezil, a cholinesterase inhibitor (ChEI), for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been searched, and the effect of CM compared with donepezil in AD has been investigated. An electronic search of MEDLINE, Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), Cochrane Library, Chinese Biological Medicine Database (CBMdisc), and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) to identify articles in English and Chinese from the inception of the database until October 18, 2015. A modifified Jadad score (7-points) to judge the methodological quality of studies, comprehensive meta-analysis was performed with Cochrane Collaboration Revman 5.3. Dichotomous data were analyzed by relative risk (RR) with a 95% confifidence interval (CI), while continuous variables were analyzed by using mean differences (MD) with 95% CI for effect size.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Six studies involving 596 AD patients through Jadad assessment with low bias were included in the meta-analysis. No signifificant difference was observed in cognitive improvement and daily abilities of patients using the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) (MD: 0.69, 95% CI:-0.17 to 1.56) and Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scale (MD: 0.94, 95% CI:-1.54 to 3.43). There were no signifificant differences in status of illness or MD for mild-moderate AD patients at 24 weeks (MD: 0.62, 95% CI:-2.99 to 4.23) and 48 weeks (MD:-0.73, 95% CI:-5.02 to 3.56). Severe AD patients were also assessed at 24 weeks (MD: 3.13, 95% CI:-6.92 to 13.18) and 48 weeks (MD: 4.23, 95% CI:-6.38 to 14.84). Furthermore, compared with donepezil, Xin (Heart)-regulating CM and Shen (Kidney)-tonifying groups were observed (MD:-1.50, 95% CI:-3.08 to 0.08; MD:-1.92, 95% CI:-3.50 to-0.33; respectively). CM had fewer side effects in AD patients.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Compared with donepezil, oral CM showed no signifificant difference in effectiveness in AD patients, and more evidence is needed to verify the fifindings.</p>