Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41540164›Full record

ArticleChinese journal of integrative medicine2026

Effectiveness and Safety of Biqi Capsules in 2,267 Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Real-World Clinical Study.

Xie-Li Ma, Cong-Min Xia, Tian Chang, Zi-Xia Liu, Yu-Chen Yang, Chuan-Hui Yao, Wei-Xiang Liu, Xun Gong, Quan Jiang

Registry-linked trialAbstract readMulticenter Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Chinese journal of integrative medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05219214 (China Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry of Patients With Chinese Medicine), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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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.

NCT05219214 unknown statusnot on this map

China Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry of Patients With Chinese Medicine

TypeobservationalSponsorGuang'anmen Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical SciencesRan2019 to 2024Enrolled12,000ConditionsRheumatoid ArthritisArmsChinese medicine
3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Xie-Li MaDepartment of Rheumatology, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100053, China.
Cong-Min XiaDepartment of Rheumatology, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100053, China.
Tian ChangDepartment of Rheumatology, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100053, China.
Zi-Xia LiuDepartment of Rheumatology, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100053, China.
Yu-Chen YangDepartment of Rheumatology, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100053, China.
Chuan-Hui YaoDepartment of Rheumatology, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100053, China.
Wei-Xiang LiuDepartment of Rheumatology, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100053, China.
Xun GongDepartment of Rheumatology, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100053, China.
Quan JiangDepartment of Rheumatology, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100053, China. doctorjq@126.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo assess the effectiveness and safety of Biqi Capsules in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

methodsThis multicenter, prospective cohort study was conducted across more than 100 centers in China. Data on RA patients were collected from the CERTAIN database between January 2019 and March 2024. Patients were categorized into an exposed group and a control group. The control group was treated with conventional Western medicine, and the exposed group was combined with Biqi Capsules (0.3 g/capsule, 4 capsules per dose, orally, 2-3 times/d) on the basis of conventional treatment. Propensity score matching (PSM) was applied to balance baseline characteristics. The main outcomes was the Disease Activity Score-28 (DAS28-ESR), and secondary outcomes included Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain, tender joint count (TJC), swollen joint count (SJC), Patient Global Assessment (PGA), and Evaluator Global Assessment (EGA) scores, as well as erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and other laboratory test results as safety indicators.

resultsA total of 2,267 patient records were analyzed, with 711 in the exposed group and 1,556 in the control group. After PSM, 710 patients were included in each group, with comparable baseline demographic characteristics (P>0.05). Following matching, pre-treatment HAQ and TJC were similar between groups (P>0.05), while significant differences were observed in DAS28-ESR, EGA, PGA, VAS, SJC, TJC, and ESR (P<0.01). Post-treatment analysis showed that all indices improved significantly in both groups (P<0.01). Furthermore, post-treatment levels of EGA, PGA, VAS, SJC, and TJC were statistically significant between the two groups (P<0.01). The reduction in DAS28-ESR was significantly greater in the exposed group than in the control group (P<0.01). Statistically greater improvements were also found in EGA, PGA, SJC, TJC, and ESR, indicating superior clinical improvement in the exposed group (P<0.01). The incidence of abnormal γ-glutamyl transferase and creatinine levels were higher in the control group than in the exposed group (P<0.01 or P<0.05), while no significant differences were observed in other safety indicators between the two groups (P>0.05).

conclusionBiqi Capsules combined with conventional treatment of Western medicine effectively reduce RA disease activity, lower inflammation levels, relieve clinical symptoms, and do not increase the incidence of adverse events. (Registration No. NCT05219214).

Indexed as

Arthritis, RheumatoidDrugs, Chinese HerbalAdultAgedCapsulesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedProspective StudiesTreatment OutcomeCapsulesDrugs, Chinese HerbalBiqi CapsulesChinese medicinepropensity score matchingreal-worldrheumatoid arthritis

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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.