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Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine >

2024 , Vol. 44 >Issue 3: 524 - 529

DOI: https://doi.org/10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.20231024.001

Original articles

Individualized Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment vs antibiotics for recurrent urinary tract infections: a multicenter, randomized controlled study

  • Xiangchen GU ,
  • Meisi QIU ,
  • Lin XIE ,
  • Min CHEN ,
  • Yueyi DENG ,
  • Changming ZHANG ,
  • Guihua JIAN ,
  • Chen WANG ,
  • Yi WANG
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  • 1 Department of Nephrology, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200437, China
    2 Department of Nephrology, Rizhao Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Rizhao 276800, China; Department of Nephrology, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200437, China
    3 Department of Nephrology, Longhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200032, China
    4 Department of Nephrology, Shanghai Municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200071, China
    5 Department of Nephrology, the Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200233, China
    6 Department of Nephrology, Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China

Received date: 2023-01-22

  Accepted date: 2023-06-15

  Online published: 2023-12-24

Supported by

TCM Guidance Project of Shanghai Science and Technology Commission: Study on TCM Syndrome Differentiation and Treatment Scheme for Chronic Urinary Tract Infection(13401904600)

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To systematically assess the effects of individualized Chinese medicines on recurrent urinary tract infections (rUTIs).

METHODS: This study recruited 230 adult female patients in the remission phase of rUTIs from five hospitals in China. The patients were randomly allocated to two groups: an individualized Chinese medicine group (n = 114) and a control group (n = 116). Patients in the Chinese medicine group received individualized Chinese herbs, which were evaluated for syndrome differentiation. Patients in the control group received antibiotic treatment combined with a Chinese medicine placebo. The duration of treatment was three courses of four weeks each, with a three-month subsequent follow-up. UTI recurrence rate, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndrome scores, 36-item Short Form Survey (SF-36) score, and urine secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) were measured and analyzed before and after treatment in each group.

RESULTS: Patients from the Chinese medicine group exhibited significant decreases in both short- and long-term UTI recurrence rates compared with the control group (P < 0.05). The changes in TCM syndrome scores between the Chinese medicine and control groups were significant (P < 0.05). The changes in the average SF-36 quality-of-life scores in the Chinese medicine group were also significantly higher than those in the control group after treatment (P < 0.05). The Chinese medicine group also demonstrated a significant increase in urine SIgA expression.

CONCLUSION: Taken together, compared to the often-used long-term antimicrobial prophylaxis during the remission stage of rUTIs, treating patients with an individualized Chinese medicine decoction by syndrome differentiation could effectively reduce the recurrence rate, improve the patients' TCM syndrome scores and quality of life, and enhance immunity, which in turn helps to prevent antibiotic resistance.

Key words： urinary tract infections; medicine, Chinese traditional; syndrome differentiation; quality of life; immunoglobulin A, secretory; randomized controlled trial

Cite this article

Xiangchen GU , Meisi QIU , Lin XIE , Min CHEN , Yueyi DENG , Changming ZHANG , Guihua JIAN , Chen WANG , Yi WANG . Individualized Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment vs antibiotics for recurrent urinary tract infections: a multicenter, randomized controlled study[J]. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2024 , 44(3) : 524 -529 . DOI: 10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.20231024.001

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