Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27884841›Full record

SynthesisBMJ open2016

Herbal medicines for the treatment of otitis media with effusion: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials.

Mi Ju Son, Songie Choi, Young-Eun Kim, Yun Hee Kim

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMJ open, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 35% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Mi Ju SonClinical Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.ORCID 0000-0003-1701-9122
Songie ChoiK-herb Research Center, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
Young-Eun KimMibyeong Research Center, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
Yun Hee KimKM Convergence Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine · KR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThis systematic review aimed to assess the clinical evidence supporting the use of herbal medicines (HMs) for the treatment of otitis media with effusion (OME).

designSystematic review and meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, AMED, CINAHL and three trial registries were searched up to January 2015. We also searched five Korean medical databases (KoreaMed, RISS, OASIS, DBPIA and KISS) and three Chinese databases (CNKI, Wanfang and VIP). STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: This study included randomised clinical trials that reported the effects of HM for OME. The primary outcome was the complete resolution of OME at 2 or 3 months post randomisation. Secondary outcomes included the partial or complete resolution at all possible time points and hearing test. Three authors independently screened the titles and abstracts, selected studies and extracted the data relating to trial quality, characteristics and results.

resultsA total of 2141 potentially relevant studies were identified, of which 17 randomised clinical trials met our inclusion criteria. Most were evaluated as having a high or unclear risk of bias. Tongqiao tablets, Tongqiao huoxue decoctions and Tsumura-Saireito were associated with a lower complete or partial resolution rate when compared with conventional medicines (CMs) (p=0.02, p=0.0001, and p=0.04, respectively), and similar outcomes were observed with Huanglong tonger pills, Erzhang decoctions and Shenling baizhu powder when combined with CM versus CM alone (p<0.00001, p=0.02, and p=0.05, respectively). Tongqiao huoxue decoction plus CM appeared to be more effective than CM in terms of improving the pure tone threshold levels (p=0.0007). Tsumura-Saireito was found to affect the proportion of patients with normalised tympanometry (p=0.03).

conclusionsDespite some indications of potential symptom improvement, the evidence regarding the effectiveness and efficacy of HMs for OME is of poor quality and therefore inconclusive. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42013005430.

Indexed as

Drugs, Chinese HerbalHumansOtitis Media with EffusionRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicDrugs, Chinese HerbalOtitis Media with EffusionSystematic Review

Identifiers

PMID27884841
PMCPMC5168523
OpenAlexW2552491488

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.