Oral Chinese Patent Medicines for Influenza： A Scoping Review of Clinical Evidence / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

This study aims to summarize the clinical research evidence on oral Chinese patent medicines for the treatment of influenza with the method of scoping review， and thus clarify the status quo and problems. Specifically， the target medicines were selected from related drug catalogues and diagnosis and treatment protocols， and the basic information of the medicines on the specifications was collected. Articles on these medicines were retrieved from Chinese and English databases for statistical analysis and visualization. Finally， 36 medicines and 87 articles were included. The main efficacy of the medicines is clearing heat and removing toxin， and the main components of the medicines are Lonicerae Japonicae Flos， Forsythiae Fructus， and Isatidis Radix. A total of 12 medicines can be used for the treatment of mumps and acute bronchitis in addition to influenza. Only 6 medicines have contraindications and adverse reactions labeled on the specifications. Papers on oral Chinese patent medicines in the treatment of influenza show an increasing trend， and the authors are from 25 provinces and cities in China. Among them， papers on Lianhuaqingwen preparations take up the largest proportion. The studies were mostly randomized controlled trials， non-randomized controlled trials， and retrospective research. A total of 13 studies were supported by national funding， and only 9 studies included more than 200 cases. The most frequently used method was the comparison of the intervention effect of Chinese patent medicines with western medicine， and the treatment course was generally 3-14 days. A total of 7 outcome indicators were used in the studies and the frequency was in the order of ① composite effective rate，② antipyretic effect， ③ symptom improvement， ④ safety indicator， ⑤ virological examination， ⑥ serum inflammatory factor， and ⑦ traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome score. The conclusions in the clinical studies show difference from the information in drug catalogues. The drug specifications are generally not standard. The available clinical studies have the limitations of small quantity， low in quality， and no demonstration of TCM advantages. In the future， it is necessary to optimize the specifications of Chinese patent medicines， enhance clinical research， further standardize the design of clinical research， and highlight the characteristics of Chinese patent medicines， thereby providing evidence to support the comprehensive clinical evaluation of oral Chinese patent medicines for influenza.