SynthesisBMC complementary and alternative medicine2014
Chinese patent medicines for the treatment of the common cold: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials.
Synthesis in BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04380870 (Describing Chinese Herbal Medicine Telehealth Care for Symptoms Related to Infectious Diseases Such as COVID-19), which is not on this map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Describing Chinese Herbal Medicine Telehealth Care for Symptoms Related to Infectious Diseases Such as COVID-19: A Descriptive, Longitudinal, Pragmatic Cohort Study
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pediatric efficacy and safety in common cold treated with herbal medicine (PEACH): a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Toward better translation of clinical research evidence into rapid recommendations for traditional Chinese medicine interventions: A methodological framework.Integrative medicine research · 2022Review
- Traditional medicine for the treatment of common cold in Korean adults: A nationwide population-based study.Integrative medicine research · 2021Article
- Efficacy of Mudan Granule (Combined With Methylcobalamin) on Type 2 Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy: Study Protocol for a Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Parallel-Arm, Multi-Center Trial.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2021Article
- Can network pharmacology identify the anti-virus and anti- inflammatory activities of Shuanghuanglian oral liquid used in Chinese medicine for respiratory tract infection?European journal of integrative medicine · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMany Chinese patent medicines (CPMs) have been authorized by the Chinese State of Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of the common cold. A number of clinical trials have been conducted and published. However, there is no systematic review or meta-analysis on their efficacy and safety for the common cold to justify their clinical use.
methodsWe searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, SinoMed, CNKI, VIP, China Important Conference Papers Database, China Dissertation Database, and online clinical trial registry websites for published and unpublished randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of CPMs for the common cold till 31 March 2013. Revman 5.2 software was used for data analysis with effect estimate presented as relative risk (RR) and mean difference (MD) with a 95% confidence interval (CI).
resultsA total of five RCTs were identified. All of the RCTs were of high risk of bias with flawed study design and poor methodological quality. All RCTs included children aged between 6 months to 14 years. Results of individual trials showed that Shuanghuanglian oral liquid (RR 4.00; 95% CI: 2.26 to 7.08), and Xiaoer Resuqing oral liquid (RR 1.43; 95% CI: 1.15 to 1.77) had higher cure rates compared with antivirus drugs. Most of the trials did not report adverse events, and the safety of CPMs was still uncertain.
conclusionsSome CPMs showed a potential positive effect for the common cold on cure rate. However, due to the poor methodology quality and the defects in the clinical design of the included RCTs, such as the lack of placebo controlled trials, the inappropriate comparison intervention and outcome measurement, the confirmative conclusions on the beneficial effect of CPMs for the common cold could not be drawn.
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