Kidney-tonifying and dampness-expelling Chinese herbal medicine combined with doxazosin for the treatment of chronic epididymitis / 中华男科学杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the clinical effects of kidney-tonifying and dampness-expelling Chinese herbal medicine combined with doxazosin in the treatment of chronic epididymitis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 64 patients with chronic epididymitis were equally randomized into a treatment and a control group, the former treated with kidney-tonifying and dampness-expelling Chinese herbal decoction combined with doxazosin, and the latter given doxazosin only, both for 4 weeks. The clinical symptoms were measured by Chronic Epididymitis Symptom Index (CESI), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) before and after the treatment, and the therapeutic effects were evaluated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After 4 weeks of medication, the total mean scores on CESI, pain, and quality of life (QOL) were significantly decreased in both the treatment and the control groups (P < 0.05), even more significantly in the former than in the latter (P < 0.05), and so were the scores on SAS and SDS (P < 0.05), but with no significant differences between the two groups (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Either doxazosin alone or kidney-tonifying and dampness-expelling Chinese herbal decoction combined with doxazosin is obviously effective on chronic epididymitis, but the combined medication produces an even better efficacy.</p>