A total of 109 varieties of Chinese medicine injections have been approved by the State Food and Drug Administration of China, all of which have the potential to induce adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Major ADRs include systemic anaphylaxis, anaphylactic shock, acute intravascular hemolysis, hepatorenal damage, skin lesion, cardiac damage, respiratory system injury, and gastrointestinal disorders. Contributing factors of ADRs include healthcare workers’ inadequate attention to ADRs of Chinese medicine injections, complex ingredients, allergic uncertainties, and inappropriate drug use in children and the aged. To decrease ADRs resulting from Chinese medicine injections, it is essential to improve the selection of drug indications, delivery of proper dosage regimens, compliance with drug instructions, and selection of solvents for the drugs.
Objective To assess the quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and clinical controlled trials (CCTs) relevant to COPD besides chronic bronchitis and chronic pulmonary cor disease in strengthening immune published in Chinese medical journals to provide scientific basis of systematic review (SR) of regulating the immune function of COPD in Chinese herbs. Methods 54 articles with clinical controlled trials were obtained by electronic searching and handsearching, and the method for randomized allocation, blindness, multi-centres, sample sizes, diagnosis criteria, exclusion criteria, source of cases, immune markers (cellular immunity, humoral immunity, erythrocyte immunity, nonspecific immunity), the clinical outcome assessment, statistical management, course of treatment and the side effects or adverse drag reaction, follow-up were investigated and then methodologically evaluated. According to the investigation, literatures with the method for randomized allocation, correct controls, appropriate sample sizes (≥60), the nation-wide diagnosis criteria, the objective clinical outcome assessment distinct statistical method were stipulated as the high-quality ones relatively. Results Among the 54 trials, 70.4% had explicit diagnosis criteria, 18.5% with exclusion criteria, 20.4% with comparability of baseline, 37.0% with distinct statistical method. In the therapy, 63.0% were with Chinese herbs. Conclusion The selected 7 articles belong to the high quality and possibly are to be explored in Meta-analysis.
Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Salviae miltiorrhizae Injection (include Danshen Injection and Fufang Danshen Injection) for chronic cor pulmonale. Design A systematic review of randomized clinical trials. Method Randomized trials comparing Salviae miltiorrhizae Injection plus routine treatment versus muting treatment alone were identified by electronic and manual searches. No blinding and language limitations were applied. The Jadad scale assessed the methodological quality of trials. Results Thirty randomized trials (n=2 161) were identified. The methodological quality of all trials included was low. The combined results (RR and 95%CI) of symptom scores was 1.20 (1.15 to 1.26). Because of the significant heterogeneity, many other markers of the blood rheology can not be combined. The reason for heterogeneity should include the differences among cases and studies. Because of lacking enough studies, the conclusions about mortality and oxidants/antioxidants markers were not b. Only a few studies had reported adverse events. Conclusions Based in the review, Salviae miltiorrhizae Injection may have positive effect on symptom scores in patients with chronic cor pulmonale. But for mortality, the markers of blood rheology and oxidants/antioxidants, there is no reliable conclusion. However, the evidence is not b due to the general low methodological quality, the variations among studies and experimental markers themselves, and lacking of more relevant and important markers. Further large trials are needed.
In the clinical trials, the rights and interests of participants must be considered. Ethical principles including the Declaration of Helsinki for clinical research have been established, and the institutional review board (IRB) and informed consent are important for protecting the rights and interests of participants. Whether a clinical trial is in accordence with the ethics depends on if the available clinical evidence is valuable and credible. The better candomize controlled trial (RCT) is one of the best evidence which will make different results equal between the treatment group and the controlled group. Thus benefits and risks of participants are allocated equitably and useless treatment is prohibited when the effective treatment affirmed at the same time. Economic health evaluation and outcome measurements are emphasized in EBM, and the clinical evidence is updated regularly. It is EBM and its emphasis of evidence that need the high-quality clinical trials, therefore the problems of ethics involved in clinical trials is important.
Objective To assess the quality of the published randomized controlled trials published in Journal of Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (JBUTCM), Acta Universitatis Traditionis Medicalis Sinensis Pharmacologiaeque Shanghai (AUTMSPS), Journal of Guangdong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (JGUTCM), and Journal of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (JCUTCM) from 2000 to 2005. Method Guided by the Cochrane Center hand-searching guidelines, we searched 24 volumes (111 issues) of the four journals. The data were extracted according to the principles of clinical epidemiology and consolidated standards of reporting trials (CONSORT), as well as an evaluation scale for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The data were managed by descriptive analysis and uniformity test. Results There were 365 RCTs. The diagnostic criteria were reported in 297 trials (81.37%). The inclusion and exclusion criteria were reported in 143 trials (39.18%) and 132 trials (36.16%), perspectively, None mentioned the estimation of sample size. The randomization and allocation concealment were reported in 70 trials (19.18%) and 9 trials, perspectively. The baseline data were described in 292 trials (80.00%). Blinding was mentioned in 35 trials (9.59%).Withdrawal occurred in 20 trials (5.48%). Informed consent was acquired in 2 trials. Adverse drug reactions were described in 97 trails (26.58%). Conclusion There are deficiencies in the reporting of these RCTs, Most of the trials do not describe the randomization, only a few trials use the allocation concealment and blinded method, no description of comparability of baseline data, most of the trials do not report the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and none estimate the sample size. These problems indicate that it is necessary to improve the quality of clinical research in Chinese medicine and pharmacology.
Medical ethics must be considered for protecting the fights and interests of patients in clinical trials. Now the fights of the subjects are more and more emphasised, but there are some problems. It is evidence-based medicine (EBM) and emphasis of evidence that need the high-quality clinical trials, yet it violates the principle of ethics in some degree. It will be helpful for the administrators to supervise the clinical trials on drugs well from the point of ethical views.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical efficacy of shenfu injection in reducing the side effects of chemotherapy in patients with cancer. MethodsWe searched Medline, PubMed, EMbase, VIP, Chinese science and technology periodical database full text database, China journal full database, Chinese biomedical literature database, and WANFANG database the durationi was from January 1994 to May 2013 for controlled trials about the use of shenfu injection to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy, without any language limitations. The quality of literature was evaluated by Jadad rating scale, and the included trials were analyze for systematic review. ResultsA total of 30 articles were included, and all of them were from Chinese literature. There were altogether 2039 cases. Compared with single chemotherapy group, the normal rate of white blood cells [RR=1.54, 95%CI (1.28, 1.84), P<0.0000 1], hemoglobin [RR=1.30, 95%CI (1.14, 1.48), P<0.000 1], platelet [RR=1.39, 95%CI (1.19, 1.62), P<0.000 1], and the number of patients without vomiting or sickness [RR=1.54, 95%CI (1.30, 1.81), P<0.0000 1] in the shenfu treatment group were all significantly higher. The life quality of the shenfu treatment group was also obviously better than the single chemotherapy group. ConclusionCompared with single chemotherapy, shenfu injection can reduce the peripheral blood cell reduction, gastrointestinal reaction and improve the patients' quality of life. Because the quality of included studies in this research is generally low, it is necessary to design a more reasonable and strict experiment with a large sample to get an exact conclusion.
Objective To investigate the status of clinical practices and side effects related to Shenfu injection.Method We searched the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database using the key word “Shenfuinjection”. Original clinical studies of Shenfu injection which were published from January 1993 to December 2008 inChinese magazines were included. Results A total of 576 relevant clinical studies were identified. There were 21 496 cases in the study group and excluding the control group patients. We investigated and analyzed the side effects of Shenfu injection. For cases with side effects, the medication dosage, the diseases for treatment, the method of medication, the menstruum, and course of treatment for the side effects were evaluated. All the side effects were mild except one case of anaphylactic shock. Conclusion Shenfu injection has been widely used in clinical patients since it came into the market in 1993. However, systematic evaluation of its clinical application is lacking, and there are some unsolved problems and deficiency in selecting and expanding diseases for treatment, evaluating the dosage and treatment method, and investigating the side effects of the drug. Therefore, it is imperative to enhance the evaluation drugs and good clinical application after the drugs come into the market with evidence-based medicine.
Objective To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Lianpu granule (LPG) in the treatment of common cold (Feng-Re syndrome). Methods The clinical trials were conducted by good clinical practice (GCP). In the phaseⅡ, a double-blind controlled trial involving 48 patients with common cold (Feng-Re syndrome) allocated by a random number table to receive LPG (n=24) or compound oral liquid of Shuanghuanglian (SHL) (n=24) as conducted; the other 80 patients included in the phase Ⅲ, multi-center randomized and controlled trial were divided into the LPG group (n=60) and SHL group (n=20) by a random number table. We didn’t evaluate the allocation concealment. LPG was administered as a dose of 8 g, three times a day, and SHL, as a dose of 10 ml, three times a day. The treatment duration for both groups was 3 days. All data were analyzed by using stata 7.0 for per-protocol population. Results In the Lianpu granule group, the good improvement rates were 90.00% (18/20) and 85.00% (51/60), and the improvement rates were 95.00% (19/20) and 98.33% (59/60); the good improvement rates for traditional Chinese medicine syndromes were 85.00% (17/20) and 85.00% (51/60), and the improvement rates were 95.00% (19/20) and 98.33% (59/60); the good improvement rates for fever were 85.00% (17/20) and 86.05% (37/43), and the improvement rates were 95.00% (19/20) and 95.35% (41/43) in the phase Ⅱ and Ⅲ respectively. Meanwhile for the compound oral liquid of SHL group, the good improvement rates were 85.71% (18/21) and 80.00% (16/20), and the improvement rates were 95.24% (20/21) and 95.00% (19/20); the good improvement rates for traditional Chinese medicine syndromes were 85.71% (18/21) and 80.00% (16/20), and the improvement rates were 95.24% (20/21) and 95.00% (19/20); the good improvement rates for fever were 85.71% (18/21) and 80.00% (12/15), and the improvement rates were 90.48% (19/21) and 93.33% (14/15) in the phase Ⅱ and Ⅲ respectively. No significant differences were seen between LPG and SHL groups on treatment duration, clinical effect and improvement rate for fever (all P ＞0.05). No adverse effects were seen in this study. Conclusion LPG has showed a definite clinical effect on common cold (Feng-Re syndrome) with no observed adverse effects.
Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Tongxiening granule （TXNG） in the treatment of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome （IBS） （stagnation of the liver-qi attacking the spleen）. Methods In a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial, 60 patients with diarrhea-predominant IBS were randomly divided into the TXNG group （TXNG, 5.0g, 3 times daily; n =30） and the placebo group （placebo, 5. 0g, 3 times daily; n =30）. The treatment was administered for 3 weeks, and the follow-up was conducted for 4 weeks.Results （1）Abdominal pain： The cure rates were 57. 7% vs. 16. 0% （ by per-protocol analysis, PP） and 31.0% vs. 7.1% （ by intention-to-treat analysis （ITT） ; and the overall improvement rates were 92.3% vs. 44.0% （PP） and 82.7% vs. 39.3% （ITT） in the TXNG and the placebo groups respectively （ P 〈0. 05）. （2） Diarrhea ： the cure rates were 46. 2% vs. 20. 0% （PP） and 41.4% vs. 17. 9% （ITT） , and the overall improvement rates were 96. 2% vs 48. 0% （PP） and 86. 2% vs 42.9% （ITT） in the two groups respectively （P 〈0.05）. （3）Traditional Chinese medicine symptoms： the cure rates were 30.8% vs. 4.0% （PP） and 27.6% vs. 3.6% （ITT） ; and the overall improevment rates were 92.3% vs. 48.0% （PP） and 82.7% vs 42.9% （ITT） in the two groups respectively （P 〈0. 05）. The pain duration after treatment in the TXNG group was significantly shortened compared with the placebo group （7.6 ±4. 6d vs 14. 4 ±4. 3d, P =0. 0125）. After 4-week follow-up, it suggested that the recrudescent duration in symptoms related to IBS in the TXNG group was longer than that in the placebo group （11.5 ±5.3 d vs 6.2 ±6.9 d, P = 0. 019）. No adverse effects were found in the TXNG group. Conclusion It was demonstrated that TXNG is effective and safe in the treatment of diarrhea-predominant ms （stagnation of the liver-qi attacking the spleen）.