Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) decoctions as supplementary therapy for rheumatoid arthritis significantly enhance efficacy and are safe.
The research team engaged in a systematic review and meta-analysis, utilizing databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang up until June 2024. The randomized controlled trials focused on TCM decoctions as an additional treatment for rheumatoid arthritis were scrutinized. Primary outcomes sought were efficacy and safety, assessed through measures like standardized mean difference and risk ratio. The team conducted sensitivity and subgroup analyses to ascertain the robustness of the results and to pinpoint sources of heterogeneity. The quality of the gathered evidence was evaluated using the grading of recommendations assessment, development, and evaluation grading.
In the analysis of the results, thirty-six randomized controlled trials with 6934 participants conveyed that TCM decoctions considerably ameliorated the overall efficacy compared with the control. The Herbal decoctions notably diminished the inflammation indicators and improved disease activity score, joint conditions, and morning stiffness in comparison to placebo. Furthermore, the treatment duration, disease duration, and age appeared to influence the efficacy of the treatment. The quality of the evidence was high for pain assessment and moderate for overall efficacy, amongst other measurements.
