Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42175479›Full record

SynthesisMedicine2026

Efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine in treating severe pneumonia: A meta-analysis and systematic review.

Aoqiang Zhou, Haiqun Lin, Zhen Chen, Lina Luo, Xinyi Ye, Leng Li

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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. 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.

Aoqiang ZhouState Key Laboratory of Dampness Syndrome of Chinese Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Haiqun LinDepartment of Graduate School, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Zhen ChenDongguan Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Dongguan, Guangdong, China.
Lina LuoState Key Laboratory of Dampness Syndrome of Chinese Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Xinyi YeState Key Laboratory of Dampness Syndrome of Chinese Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Leng LiDongguan Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Dongguan, Guangdong, China.ORCID 0000-0002-2011-7527

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSevere pneumonia (SP) is a critical respiratory disease characterized by its severity and high mortality rate. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has gradually been used as an adjunctive therapy in clinical treatment of SP, yet its efficacy and safety lack systematic evidence. This study aims to analyze, evaluate, and compare current research evidence on TCM adjunctive therapy for SP, providing a basis for clinical treatment of this condition.

methodsA systematic search was conducted on both English and Chinese online databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang Data, VIP) to identify relevant papers published from inception to November 2023. High-quality randomized controlled tests (RCTs) were selected for analysis. Outcome measures related to SP were extracted from the literature. Statistical analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 (Cochrane) software to assess heterogeneity among included studies, calculate mean differences, odds ratios, and their 95% confidence intervals, and detect publication bias.

resultsA total of 34 RCTs met the inclusion criteria. Comparative analysis revealed that integrating TCM with conventional treatment significantly improves the overall clinical effective rate(P < .05). Specifically, it markedly alleviates TCM symptoms (P < .05). Additionally, TCM adjunctive therapy reduces levels of inflammatory markers including white blood cells, C-reactive protein (P < .05), and decreases Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scores compared to conventional treatment alone (P < .05). Compared to conventional treatment alone, TCM adjunctive therapy also enhances arterial blood gas indices (PaO2) (P < .05) and pulmonary function (forced expiratory volume in 1 second) (P < .05). Complication rates and mortality are lower in the TCM adjunctive therapy group(P < .05). Moreover, TCM treatment significantly boosts immune function (cluster of differentiation 4+ T lymphocyte) (P < .05).

conclusionIntegrating TCM with conventional treatment shows advantages in the efficacy of SP treatment, clinical symptoms management, inflammatory markers, and severity grading. Compared to conventional treatment alone, TCM adjunctive therapy improves immune function, pulmonary function, complication rates. However, future research should focus on large-scale, high-quality RCTs to further validate the effectiveness and safety of TCM adjunctive therapy for SP.

Indexed as

Drugs, Chinese HerbalMedicine, Chinese TraditionalPneumoniaHumansRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicSeverity of Illness IndexTreatment OutcomeDrugs, Chinese Herbalefficacysevere pneumoniatraditional Chinese medicine

Identifiers

PMID42175479
PMCPMC13200964

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Registered trials

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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.