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Objective. The traditional Chinese medicine Kangai injection as an adjuvant method in combination with chemotherapy has been widely used for treating breast cancer in clinical practice in China. This study systematically reviewed the clinical effect and safety of traditional Chinese medicine Kangai injection as an adjuvant method in combination with chemotherapy for treating Chinese patients with breast cancer. Methods. Seven databases were searched in this study, namely, PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, CNKI, Sino Med, VIP, and Wanfang Data. The timeframe of retrieval was set from the founding date of each database to November 1, 2017. Results. Fifteen papers were included in this study. The quality of all the studies included was low. All the studies were carried out among the Chinese population. Meta-analyses showed that, compared with single-use chemotherapy, using a Kangai injection combined with chemotherapy to treat Chinese breast cancer patient can increase the total effective rate [RR = 1.15, 95% CI (1.01, 1.32), and P=0.033], improve the quality of life [RR = 1.30, 95% CI (1.14, 1.48), and P≤0.001], decrease the incidence of weight loss [RR = 0.49, 95% CI (0.32, 0.77), and P=0.002], decrease WBC count [RR = 0.78, 95% CI (0.68, 0.89), and P≤0.001], decrease incidence of renal and liver dysfunction [RR = 0.58, 95% CI (0.46, 0.73), and P≤0.001], and decrease cardiac dysfunction [RR = 0.41, 95% CI (0.18, 0.94), and P=0.035]. For the incidence of gastrointestinal adverse reactions [RR = 0.89, 95% CI (0.65, 1.21), and P=0.452], decreased platelet count [RR=0.49, 95% CI (0.18, 1.30), and P=0.150], and alopecia [RR = 1.01, 95% CI (0.89, 1.14), and P=0.879], these two groups showed no statistically significant differences. Conclusion. Kangai injection as an adjuvant method in combination with chemotherapy for treating Chinese breast cancer patients can improve their life quality and physical conditions and reduce the adverse reactions that result from chemotherapy. However, the present conclusion is only suitable for the Chinese population. The long-term, high-quality researches are required to further verify the above conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. By conducting a systematic review of the efficacy of acupoint application on children with asthma. Methods. We searched Chinese databases (CNKI, VIP, and Wanfang) and English databases (PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library) for studies from the establishment of the database to October 2021. The included literature studies were randomized control studies investigating the treatment of asthma in children by acupoint application. The primary outcomes included the cure rate, the resolution time of cough, and the resolution time of wheezing. The secondary outcomes included pulmonary function and interleukins. Stata 15 and RevMan 5.4 were used to analyze the extracted data. Results. A total of 24 related studies were included containing 2716 cases. The meta-analysis showed that TCM group was superior to control group in terms of cure rate, pulmonary function (FEV1), and resolution time of wheezing in children with asthma [RR = 1.26,95% (1.21,1.31), P < 0.05 ; SMD = 0.81, 95%CI (0.05,1.56), P < 0.05 ; WMD = −1.40, 95%CI (−1.75, −1.05), P < 0.05 ]. Conclusions. The present study shows that acupoint application is an effective treatment for children with asthma in China, especially in alleviating wheezing and improving quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. This paper systematically evaluated the efficacy and safety of compound Danshen dropping pill (CDDP) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), comparing CDDP with no intervention, placebo, or conventional western medicine, were retrieved. Data extraction and analyses were conducted in accordance with the Cochrane standards. We assessed risk of bias for each included study and evaluated the strength of evidence on prespecified outcomes. Results. Seven RCTs enrolling 1215 patients were included. CDDP was associated with statistically significant reductions in the risk of cardiac death and heart failure compared with no intervention based on conventional therapy for AMI. In addition, CDDP was associated with improvement of quality of life and impaired left ventricular ejection fraction. Nevertheless, the safety of CDDP was unproven for the limited data. The quality of evidence for each outcome in the main comparison (CDDP versus no intervention) was "low" or "moderate." Conclusion. CDDP showed some potential benefits for AMI patients, such as the reductions of cardiac death and heart failure. However, the overall quality of evidence was poor, and the safety of CDDP for AMI patients was not confirmed. More evidence from high quality RCTs is warranted to support the use of CDDP for AMI patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is one of the most common complications of diabetes mellitus, with the wound not healing as expected and healing slowly. Poor control can develop into gangrene and even amputation. Currently, the existing treatments are not satisfactory enough. In China, KangFuXin liquid (KFXL) has been clinically used to treat DFU and has shown good clinical efficacy. In order to provide more reference to clinicians and experts, evidence of efficacy for it needs to be further rigorously evaluated. Methods. Eight electronic databases were searched to identify eligible randomized clinical trials (RCTs) published from construction of the library to April 2019. There is no language or data restriction; 11 trials involving 889 participants met the inclusion criteria. These RCTs compared the total effective rate, cure rate, cure time, and adverse events associated with KFXL. The Cochrane Handbook guidelines were used to assess the risk of bias and to evaluate the methodological quality of eligible studies. The methodological quality of included studies was generally low. Dichotomous and continuous data were presented using risk ratios (RRs) and mean differences (MDs), respectively. Results. Compared with the basic treatment, meta-analyses showed that KFXL combined with basic treatment can improve the total effective rate (RR = 1.38; 95% CI = 1.23–1.54; P < 0.00001 ; fixed effect model: I2 = 32%) and cure rate (RR = 1.67; 95% CI = 1.17–2.38; P = 0.005 ; random effect model: I2 = 65%), and shorten the healing time (MD = −5.73; 95% CI = −6.95 to −4.52; P < 0.00001 ; random effect model). Moreover, under the same basic treatment, KFXL had a better effect than external use of pharmaceutical medications (RR = 1.95; 95% CI = 1.30–2.93; P = 0.001), but the cure rate was not significantly different. Also, KFXL had nothing to do with adverse reactions. Conclusion. The evidence confirms that KFXL is an effective treatment for DFU. However, further large-scale, rigorously designed trials and high-quality studies are needed to confirm the role of KFXL in the treatment of DFU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Tian Wang Bu Xin Dan (TWBXD) has been used widely for treating insomnia in China. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of TWBXD in the treatment of insomnia. Objective. This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of TWBXD for insomnia. Methods. We searched seven main databases including PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Chinese Biomedicine Database (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Scientific Journals Database (VIP), and Wan-fang. We identified randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) for insomnia treatment involving TWBXD, TWBXD combined with conventional Western medicine, and conventional Western medicine from their inception to May 2018. The quality of literature was evaluated by Cochrane assessing tool to reduce the risk of bias. Meta-analysis and heterogeneity of results across the trials were performed. RevMan 5.3 was used to synthesize the results. Results. 14 studies involving 1,256 participants were identified in this systematic review. Methodological deficiencies existed in most of the included trials. Few studies described the generation of a random sequence in detail, the concealment of allocation, and the methods of blinding. No placebo was used in treatment. 12 trials compared TWBXD with conventional Western medicine and 2 trials compared TWBXD combined with conventional Western medicine. The results of our meta-analysis showed relative benefits in effective rates in favor of TWBXD (Odds Ratio [OR] 2.71, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.67 to 4.39, P < 0.00001) and TWBXD combined with conventional Western medicine (OR 5.05, 95% CI 1.58 to 16.12, P=0.006). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores showed similar results, which favored TWBXD (Weighted Mean Difference [WMD] -1.82, 95% CI -3.00 to -0.64, P=0.003). Only 5 trials reported adverse events, whereas the other 9 trials did not provide the safety information. Conclusion. This review demonstrates that although the effects of TWBXD on insomnia were promising, they need to be interpreted with caution, due to the poor methodological quality and the small number of trials of the included studies. TWBXD seems to be generally safe, but there is insufficient evidence to make conclusions on the safety because fewer studies reported the adverse events. Further studies on a larger scale with more rigorous designs are required to evaluate the role of TWBXD in the insomnia treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]