Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31077221›Full record

SynthesisBMC complementary and alternative medicine2019

Chinese herbal bath therapy for the treatment of uremic pruritus: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Wenxuan Xue, Yanhua Zhao, Mengyun Yuan, Zhiqiang Zhao

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
2.3field-weighted citation impact, top 13% 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

15 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.

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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.

Wenxuan XueThe First College of Clinical Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, 138 Xianlin Avenue, Qixia District, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, China.
Yanhua ZhaoThe First College of Clinical Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, 138 Xianlin Avenue, Qixia District, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, China.
Mengyun YuanThe First College of Clinical Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, 138 Xianlin Avenue, Qixia District, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, China.
Zhiqiang ZhaoThe First College of Clinical Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, 138 Xianlin Avenue, Qixia District, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, China. zzq11142017@163.com.
Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundChinese herbal bath therapy (CHBT) is a traditional external therapy that has been used for the treatment of uremic pruritus (UP) in China. We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CHBT for UP.

methodsWe searched seven databases for studies published since database inception to September 1, 2018. Randomized trials evaluating CHBT for UP were collected. The therapeutic effects of CHBT were measured by the pruritus level (via the visual analogue scale (VAS) or the symptom score scale) and the total effective rate. We combined studies using mean difference (MD) for continuous outcomes and using risk ratio for dichotomous data, both with 95% confidence intervals. RevMan V.5.3 software was used to assess the data reported and perform the meta-analysis.

resultsSeventeen articles including 970 patients were identified. All participants were haemodialysis (HD) patients. CHBT is administered by immersing the whole body in a prepared herbal water bath. On average, an herbal bath prescription included 11 Chinese herbs. The mean treatment duration was 4.7 weeks. Compared with basic treatment (HD or haemoperfusion (HP)) and adding a control of sham CHBT, clear hot water bath, or calamine lotion, CHBT plus basic treatment reduced the VAS score (MD = - 2.38; 95% confidence intervals [CI], - 3.02 to - 1.74; P < 0.00001) and the symptom score (MD = - 8.42; 95% confidence intervals [CI], - 12.47 to - 4.36; P < 0.00001) and had a higher total effectiveness rate (risk ratio [RR] = 1.46; 95% CI, 1.31 to 1.63; P < 0.00001).

conclusionsIn conclusion, CHBT could be a complementary therapy for improving pruritic symptoms in uraemia patients. More rigorously designed, multicentre, prospective RCTs are warranted to further identify the efficacy and safety of CHBT.

trial registrationSystematic review registration: [PROSPERO registration: CRD42018108506 ].

Indexed as

BathsDrugs, Chinese HerbalHumansMedicine, Chinese TraditionalPruritusRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTreatment OutcomeUremiaDrugs, Chinese HerbalBathESRDHaemodialysisTraditional Chinese medicineUremic pruritus

Identifiers

PMID31077221
PMCPMC6509860
OpenAlexW2944213201

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.