Clinical Comprehensive Evaluation of Tongxiening Granules in Treatment of Diarrhea-predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Liver Qi Invading Spleen Syndrome / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo systematically review the existing evidence of Tongxiening（TXN） Granules in the treatment of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome （IBS-D） with liver Qi invading spleen syndrome，and evaluate the clinical comprehensive value from the 6+1 dimension，providing references for national medical decision-making，drug clinical application promotion，pharmaceutical services，etc. MethodFollowing the relevant standards of the "Guidelines for the Management of Clinical Evidence and Value Evaluation of Drugs"， a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches based on evidence-based medicine，questionnaire surveys，pharmacoeconomic evaluation，etc.，was employed. Multi-criteria decision analysis （MCDA） model was employed to comprehensively evaluate the clinical evidence and value of TXN Granules in the treatment of IBS-D with liver Qi invading spleen syndrome from the "6+1" dimensions of effectiveness，safety，economy，innovation，suitability，accessibility， and traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） characteristics Result① Safety： Based on the evaluation of known risks and adequacy of safety evidence， TXN granules were considered to have controllable risks with sufficient safety evidence. ② Effectiveness： Meta-analysis showed that TXN granules combined with probiotics could reduce the intestinal symptom score level of IBS-D patients ［mean difference （MD）=-2.29， 95% confidence interval （CI） （-3.20， -1.38）， P<0.01］， and TXN granules combined with conventional treatments （such as Bifidobacterium triple viable capsules，pinaverium bromide tablets，or trimebutine maleate tablets）effectively improved the comprehensive improvement rate of IBS-D patients ［relative risk （RR）=1.19， 95%CI （1.14，1.25）， P<0.01］. TXN granules significantly improved abdominal pain ［RR=1.99， 95%CI （1.62，2.44）， P < 0.01］ and diarrhea efficacy rate ［RR = 1.56， 95% CI （1.07，2.25）， P<0.05］ in IBS-D patients. TXN granules were comparable to pinaverium bromide tablets in reducing HAMA score ［MD = 0.29， 95% CI （-0.30， 0.88）， P=0.34］， HAMD score ［MD=0.35， 95%CI （-0.31，1.00），P=0.30］， and improving IBS-QOL score ［MD = 0.28， 95%CI （-1.70，2.26）， P=0.78］. Based on the quality of evidence and evidence value assessment of effectiveness， it was considered that there was sufficient evidence of effectiveness for this product. ③ Economy： TXN granules are a national medical insurance category B product. After 5 years of simulation with three kinds of Markov models， it was considered that TXN granules were the advantageous treatment option with stable results and good economy. ④ Innovation： TXN granules adhered to original innovation， conducting research and development from clinical application， product components， and production processes. They have obtained national TCM new drug certificates， first prizes from the China Association of Chinese Medicine for Science and Technology， and excellent awards for Chinese patents， providing sufficient innovative evidence in clinical， corporate， and industrial aspects. ⑤ Suitability： The information service of this drug is comprehensive. The questionnaire survey results showed that this drug was suitable for clinical doctors， nurses， pharmacists， and patients in terms of individual compliance， system， and management across multiple dimensions. The overall assessment showed sufficient evidence of suitability for this product. ⑥ Accessibility： The daily cost of TXN granules accounts for 2.43% of the median disposable daily income of urban residents and 9.26% of rural residents， which is moderate and reasonable compared to similar drugs. There is sufficient evidence of affordability， and it is sold nationwide covering all 31 provinces， municipalities， and autonomous regions， with full accessibility evidence and clear results. TCM characteristics： TXN granules originate from the prescription for treating diarrhea in Danxi's Experiential Therapy. They are derived from classical formulas and have undergone multiple clinical trials involving 5 000 cases since their launch， accumulating a certain amount of human use experience. Based on the principles of evaluating TCM characteristics， TXN granules highlight TCM characteristics. The comprehensive value measured using CSC V2.0 software is 0.83 points based on the results of “6+1” dimensions. ConclusionBased on the evaluation results of TXN granules in various dimensions and the comprehensive evaluation score， it is considered that there is sufficient clinical value evidence for TXN granules in treating IBS-D with liver Qi invading spleen syndrome， which can provide references for clinical decision-making and pharmaceutical management. It is suggested for future research to conduct network Meta-analysis， conduct horizontal comparisons of similar TCM treatments for IBS-D， improve the quality of evidence-based evidence， and fully leverage the clinical value advantages of TXN granules.