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Oral Chinese herbal medicines appear to enhance recovery when used as supplements to conventional treatment after sinus surgery.
2023 PLOS One Orally administered Chinese herbal therapy to assist post-surgical recovery for chronic rhinosinusitis—A systematic review and meta-analysis Cui J, Lin W, May BH, Luo Q, Worsnop C, Zhang AL, et al.
Meta-Analysis Chronic Rhinosinusitis
This study systematically reviews and conducts a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials, gathered from a wide range of nine databases and clinical trial registries, to evaluate the impact of orally administered Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) on the post-surgical management of chronic rhinosinusitis. The participants across these trials included adults and children diagnosed with sinusitis or rhinosinusitis, who had undergone surgery. The added interventions were orally consumed CHMs post-surgery in tandem with traditional post-surgery management. The control groups received only the conventional management without CHMs.
The results from a variety of measures including Sino-Nasal Outcome Test, visual analogue scales, various computed tomography scores, and mucociliary transport rates showed greater improvements in the group consuming oral CHMs in addition to the post-surgery treatment, versus the control. Particularly, enhancements were noticeable at follow-up stages after the end of treatment. However, the reporting of adverse events was incomplete across the trials. The study also found that the quality of the studies and their reporting varied, with many studies not being blinded and some results showing substantial heterogeneity.
Acupuncture, either solo or alongside conventional treatment, results in a significant improvement in symptoms and quality of life for chronic rhinosinusitis sufferers.
2022 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Acupuncture for the Treatment of Chronic Rhinosinusitis: A PRISMA-Compliant Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Lee B, Kwon CY, Park MY
Systematic Review Acupuncture Chronic Rhinosinusitis Sinusitis
To evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating chronic rhinosinusitis, this study utilized 10 randomized controlled clinical trials, found through searching electronic databases. Through these trials, the posttreatment severity of chronic rhinosinusitis was measured, primarily focusing on the Total Effective Rate and patient ratings on the Visual Analogue Scale.
From the analysis of the trial data, it was revealed that acupuncture, when used alone or in combination with conventional treatment methods, led to significant improvements in the severity of chronic rhinosinusitis symptoms and the quality of life of patients. This was indicated by enhanced ratings on the Visual Analogue Scale and the Total Effective Rate. It was also noted that the incidence of adverse events was similar across treatment methods. Despite these promising results, the researchers found a high degree of clinical heterogeneity across the included trials, as well as generally moderate-to-low quality of evidence.