Huang Qi and Dang Gui show efficacy and safety in treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
The research methodology involved searching key databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) concerning treatments of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) with Astragalus mongholicus Bunge and Angelica sinensis. The quality of the identified studies was assessed using the Jadad rating scale, a system for evaluating the reliability of RCTs, and guidelines from the Cochrane Reviewer's Handbook were referred for assessing risk of bias. Primary outcomes from these RCTs were extracted and a meta-analysis was performed using specific software.
The discussion of results revealed that seventeen eligible RCTs were subjected to systematic review and meta-analysis, with their risk of bias and quality evaluated. The findings indicated that both the total effective rate and traditional Chinese medicine syndrome effective rate were significantly higher in the experimental group than the control group. Similarly, main pulmonary function index, six minute walking distance and Borg scale questionnaire score showed improvement in the experimental group versus the control group. Additionally, incidence of adverse reactions was notably lower in the experimental group compared to the control group, suggesting the safety of the herbal treatments.
