Abstract: OBJECTIVE:To assess the efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM)on constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome by focusing on the liver.METHODS:Databases(domestic and foreign)were searched with the key words"irritable bowel syndrome","constipation",and"Chinese medicine";the relevant articles were retrieved and evaluated.Cure rate,"remarkable efficacy",recurrence rate and the incidence of adverse reactions were the outcome indicators.Review Manager ver 5.1 was used for this meta-analysis,and funnel plots used to detect publication bias.RESULTS:Nineteen randomized controlled trials were included and 1510 patients involved.The treatment guided byTCM based on the liver was superior to Western Medicine[odds ratio(OR)=2.46,95%confidence interval(CI)1.80,3.35)],cure rate[OR=2.61,95%CI(1.93,3.52)],remarkable efficacy[OR=2.68,95%CI(1.82,3.95)],recurrence rate[OR=0.19,95%CI(0.12,0.29)]and the incidence of adverse reactions[OR=0.24,95%CI(0.09,0.65)].However,funnel plots showed publication bias.CONCLUSION:Compared with Western Medicine,the treatment of IBS-C based on the liver is significantly better but the results must be treated with caution because publication bias was recorded.

Key words: Meta-analysis, Medicine,Chinese traditional, Constipation, Irritable bowel syndrome, Randomized controlled trial