Efficacy and safety of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine against COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Although plenty of clinical trials have confirmed the efficacy and safety of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine (ITCWM) against COVID-19, the role of ITCWM remains controversial. So we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies in eight major databases that report the outcomes of interest in COVID-19 patients receiving ITCWM. RevMan5.4 software was used for meta-analysis, while the quality of RCTs was assessed by the Cochrane risk of bias tool and the retrospective studies were assessed by Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Eventually, a total of 53 studies with 5425 COVID-19 patients was identified. The meta-analysis results showed that ITCWM was significantly better than western medicine treatment (WMT) alone in the percentage of cases changing to severe/critical [RR = 0.40, 95%CI (0.33, 0.49), p < .00001, I2  = 10%], overall clinical effectiveness [RR = 1.26, 95% CI (1.18, 1.35), p < .00001, I2  = 50%], time to defervescencer [MD = -1.45, 95% CI (-1.82, -1.07), p < .00001, I2  = 83%], disappearing time of cough [MD = -2.11, 95% CI (-2.98, -1.25), p < .00001, I2  = 93%], time of RT-PCR negativity [MD = -3.35, 95% CI (-4.74, -1.95), p < .00001, I2  = 92%], length of hospital stay [MD = -4.05, 95% CI (-5.24, -2.85), p < .00001, I2  = 91%], improvement in CT scan [RR = 1.22, 95% CI (1.17, 1.28), p < .00001, I2  = 46%], TCM syndrome score [MD = -3.95, 95% CI (-5.07, -2.82), p < .00001, I2  = 92%], disappearance rate of fever [RR = 1.23, 95% CI (1.10, 1.38), p < .00001, I2  = 85%], disappearance rate of cough [RR = 1.43, 95% CI (1.25, 1.63), p < .00001, I2  = 60%], level of CRP [MD = -9.23, 95% CI (-10.94, -7.52), p < .00001, I2  = 97%], and WBC [MD = -9.23, 95% CI (-10.94, -7.52), p < .00001, I2  = 97%]. There is no significant difference between ITCWM and WMT in the adverse reaction rate [RR = 0.85, 95% CI(0.71, 1.03), p = .10, I2  = 25%]. Our results showed evidence of clinical efficacy and safety benefit in COVID-19 patients treated with ITCWM. In spite of some limitations, the rapidly developing global pandemic warrants further high-quality and multicenter clinical studies to confirm the contribution of ITCWM.

A meta-analysis for Lianhua Qingwen on the treatment of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

BACKGROUND: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been proven to played a great important role on the treatment of COVID-19. As one of the drugs recommended in Chinese guidelines, Lianhua Qingwen Granules or Capsules (LQ) are widely used.This systematic review and meta-analysis amis to evaluate the clinical efficacy of LQ on the treatment of COVID-19. METHODS: Seven databases (PubMed, EMBASE, CENTRAL, CNKI, VIP, CBM and Wanfang) were searched to include all appropriate clinical trials that explore the efficacy of LQ on the treatment of COVID-19. RESULT: A total of 3 trials including 245 COVID-19 patients were eventually enrolled.Compared with the control group,the LQ group showed great significant difference on reducing the rate of clinical change to severe or critical condition[RR = 0.38, 95 %CI (0.17,0.85), P < 0.05]and the fever time (SMD =-0.57,95 %CI (-0.96,-0.17), P<0.05),as well as the significant improvement on the disappearance rate of the clinical symptoms: fever [RR = 1.36,95 %CI (1.14,1.61), P < 0.05],cough[RR = 1.99,95 %CI (1.39,2.86), P < 0.05],fatigue[RR = 1.52,95 %CI (1.15,2.01), P < 0.05] and anhelation [RR = 4.18,95 %CI (1.99,8.81), P < 0.05], but no significance on expectoration[RR = 2.46,95 %CI (0.81,7.51), P < 0.05]. CONCLUSION: The clinical application of LQ on the treatment of COVID-19 has significant efficacy in improving clinical symptoms and reducing the rate of clinical change to severe or critical condition. Nevertheless, due to the limited quantity and quality of the included studies, more and higher quality trials with more observational indicators are expected to be published.

A meta-analysis for Kuanxiong Aerosol on the treatment of angina pectoris.

BACKGROUND: Kuanxiong Aerosol (KA) has been used in patients with angina pectoris (AP) attacks for many years, this systematic review and meta-analysis aims to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of KA versus nitrates in the treatment of AP. METHODS: Seven databases (PubMed, EMBASE, CENTRAL, CNKI, VIP, CBM and Wanfang) were searched from inception to November 2019 to include randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compare the efficacy and safety of KA with nitrates on the treatment of AP. And two reviewers independently assessed the risk of bias. RESULT: A total of 12 RCTs were eventually included, involving 2001 patients. Compared with the Nitrates group, the KA group showed great significant improvement on the 3-min [relative risk (RR) = 1.12, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.03,1.23), P < .05;11 studies,1875 patients] and 5-min [RR = 1.05, 95%CI (1.01,1.08), P < 0.05; 11 studies,1875 patients] angina remission rates, the incidence of adverse reactions [RR = 0.42,95% CI (0.33,0.54), P < 0.00001; 8 studies, 1350 patients], endothelin(ET) [SMD = -0.40, 95%CI (-0.74,-0.07), P < 0.05; 2 studies, 143 patients] and c-reactive protein (CRP) [SMD = -0.58, 95%CI (-0.87,-0.30), P < 0.00001;2 studies, 200 patients],but no significant improvement on electrocardiogram efficacy [RR = 1.03, 95%CI (0.98,1.10), P = 0.26;11 studies, 1549 patients], nitric oxide (NO) [SMD = -0.08, 95%CI (-0.61,0.45), P = 0.76;2 studies, 143 patients]. CONCLUSION: The clinical use of KA is effective and safe on the treatment of AP, which appears to be better than nitrates in terms of efficiency, adverse reactions, endothelial function and inflammatory response. Nevertheless, due to some limitations in the sample size and quality of the included studies, more high-quality RCTs were still needed for further verification.

Association of polymorphism in rs2736990 of the α-synuclein gene with Parkinson's disease in a Chinese population.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Previous genetic studies in Parkinson's disease (PD) have provided conclusive evidence for association of genes with strong biological rationale for PD. Recently several studies in different populations have found a strong association between idiopathic PD and the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs2736990, located within an intron of the α-synuclein (SNCA) gene. In this study, we aimed to verify these findings and to explore the characteristic of the association in a subset of Chinese Han PD patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 515 unrelated patients with sporadic PD and 450 healthy ethnically matched control subjects were recruited consecutively for the study. Patients and healthy controls were genotyped for SNCA rs2736990 variant by polymerase chain reaction - ligase detection reaction. RESULTS: Our data showed a significant association between the rs2736990 polymorphism and PD, the frequency of the allele C in PD patients was significantly higher than that in controls (P = 0.017, OR = 1.26, 95% confident intervals (CI) =1.04-1.51). The distribution of C > T genotypes was different between patients and controls (P = 0.027). Furthermore, allele C of SNP rs2736990 in early-onset PD was significantly more frequent than that in healthy controls (P = 0.007, odds ratio = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.13-2.26). CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that SNCA rs2736990 C > T polymorphism was associated with susceptibility to PD in Chinese Han population. Further studies are needed to replicate the association we found.