Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine ›› 2024, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (6): 1082-1090.DOI: 10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.2024.06.001

• Meta-Analyses • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Chinese patent medicine for atherosclerosis: a systematic review and Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

XU Jian1,2, LIU Yuntao1,2, LUO Zhihao3, ZHAO Zhen4, WANG Dawei5,6(), LIU Qing4()   

  1. 1 Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510006, China
    2 Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Research on Emergency in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510006, China
    3 Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine-Hainan Hospital, Haikou 570100, China
    4 Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine-Zhuhai Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510006, China
    5 Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510006, China
    6 State Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510006, China
  • Received:2022-12-22 Accepted:2023-03-12 Online:2024-12-15 Published:2024-11-12
  • Contact: WANG Dawei, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510006, China; State Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510006, China. davidwang33@139.com
    LIU Qing, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine-Zhuhai Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510006, China. 851757626@qq.com
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China: Regulation of nanomedicine on the immune microenvironment in the macrophage-rich area of arterial plaques based on IL-17 immunity(82274279, to Q.L.)

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To synthesize the evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the efficacy and safety of Chinese patent medicine (CPM) on atherosclerosis (AS) or with a high risk of atherosclerosis.

METHODS: All RCTs in three databases (PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library) were included from the inception of the database to September 20, 2019. The methodological evaluation of the included trials was carried out using the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Tool. Meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.3 software. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology was used to evaluate the quality of evidence.

RESULTS: Eighteen RCTs were included, involving a total of 3885 patients with AS or with a high risk of AS. Most trials had favorable methodology. Meta-analysis suggested significant differences in clinical endpoint (n = 1938, RR 0.53; 95% CI 0.40 to 0.69, P < 0.00001; I 2 = 0%); the change in carotid artery IMT (n = 1723, MD -0.09, 95% CI -0.14 to -0.04, P < 0.001; I 2 = 40%); change in FMD (n = 239, MD 0.87, 95% CI 0.52 to 1.21, P < 0.00001; I 2 = 0%); change in high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (n = 1527, MD -1.89, 95% CI -3.36 to -0.42, P = 0.01; I 2 = 94%) and incidence of total adverse events (RR 0.76, 95% CI 0.62 to 0.93, P = 0.009; I 2 = 40%) in favor of the experimental group. However, meta-analysis showed no significant differences in the change in low-density lipoprotein-C (LDL-C) (n = 2419, MD -0.19, 95% CI -0.50 to 0.12, P = 0.22, I 2 = 94%) between the experimental and control groups.

Conclusion: CPM could have certain clinical efficacy in the treatment of AS. However, more double-blinded placebo-controlled RCTs are required in further evaluations to provide stronger evidence.

Key words: Chinese patent medicine, atherosclerosis, meta-analysis, safety, intima-media thickness, flow-mediated dilation

Cite this article

XU Jian, LIU Yuntao, LUO Zhihao, ZHAO Zhen, WANG Dawei, LIU Qing. Chinese patent medicine for atherosclerosis: a systematic review and Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials[J]. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2024, 44(6): 1082-1090.