Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34782291›Full record

SynthesisJournal of integrative medicine2022

Meta-analysis on the effect of combining Lianhua Qingwen with Western medicine to treat coronavirus disease 2019.

Deng-Chao Wang, Miao Yu, Wen-Xian Xie, Li-Yan Huang, Jian Wei, Yue-Hua Lei

Open access · greenAbstract readMeta-AnalysisReview
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of integrative medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 14% 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

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
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

6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Deng-Chao WangDepartment of General Surgery, Zigong Fourth People's Hospital, Zigong 643000, Sichuan Province, China. Electronic address: wangdengchaopwk@163.com.
Miao YuDepartment of Basic Medicine, Sichuan Vocational College of Health and Rehabilitation, Zigong 643000, Sichuan Province, China.
Wen-Xian XieDepartment of Basic Medicine, Sichuan Vocational College of Health and Rehabilitation, Zigong 643000, Sichuan Province, China.
Li-Yan HuangDepartment of Pathology, West China Second Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610000, Sichuan Province, China.
Jian WeiDepartment of General Surgery, Zigong Fourth People's Hospital, Zigong 643000, Sichuan Province, China.
Yue-Hua LeiDepartment of General Surgery, Zigong Fourth People's Hospital, Zigong 643000, Sichuan Province, China.
Zigong First People's Hospital · CNSecond Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese · CNSichuan University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a worldwide life-threatening pandemic. Lianhua Qingwen is believed to possess the ability to treat or significantly improve the symptoms of COVID-19. These claims make it important to systematically evaluate the effects of using Lianhua Qingwen with Western medicine to treat COVID-19.

objectiveTo evaluate the safety and efficacy of combination therapy, employing Lianhua Qingwen with Western medicine, to treat COVID-19, using a meta-analysis approach. SEARCH STRATEGY: China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, VIP Database, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for studies evaluating the effect of Lianhua Qingwen-Western medicine combination therapy in the treatment of COVID-19. INCLUSION CRITERIA: (1) Research object: hospitalized patients meeting the diagnostic criteria of COVID-19 were included. (2) Intervention measures: patients in the treatment group received Lianhua Qingwen treatment combined with Western medicine, while the control group received either Western medicine or Chinese medicine treatment. (3) Research type: randomized controlled trials and retrospective study were included. DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS: Two researchers extracted the first author, the proportion of males and females, age, body temperature, course of treatment, rate of disappearance of main symptoms, duration of fever, adverse reactions, and total effectiveness from the literature. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used as the effect value for count data, and mean difference (MD) and 95% CI were used as the effect value for measurement data.

resultsSix articles met the inclusion criteria, including a total of 856 COVID-19 patients. The meta-analysis showed that Lianhua Qingwen combination therapy achieved higher rates of fever reduction (OR = 3.43, 95% CI [1.78, 6.59], P = 0.0002), cough reduction (OR = 3.39, 95% CI [1.85, 6.23], P < 0.0001), recovery from shortness of breath (OR = 10.62, 95% CI [3.71, 30.40], P < 0.0001) and recovery from fatigue (OR = 2.82, 95% CI [1.44, 5.53], P = 0.003), higher total effectiveness rate (OR = 2.51, 95% CI [1.73, 3.64], P < 0.00001), and shorter time to recovery from fever (MD = -1.00, 95% CI [-1.04, 0.96], P < 0.00001), and did not increase the adverse reaction rate (OR = 0.65, 95% CI [0.42, 1.01], P = 0.06), compared to the single medication control.

conclusionThe Lianhua Qingwen and Western medicine combination therapy is highly effective for COVID-19 patients and has good clinical safety. As only a small number of studies and patients were included in this review, more high-quality, multicenter, large-sample-size, randomized, double-blind, controlled trials are still needed for verification.

Indexed as

COVID-19Drugs, Chinese HerbalFemaleHumansMaleMulticenter Studies as TopicPandemicsRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicRetrospective StudiesSARS-CoV-2Drugs, Chinese HerbalCoronavirus disease 2019Lianhua QingwenMeta-analysisWestern medicine

Identifiers

PMID34782291
PMCPMC8560181
OpenAlexW3209621721

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.