Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Chinese Herbal Medicine Auxiliary Therapy for Childhood Cough Variant Asthma: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of 20 Randomized Controlled Trials
Song P, Zeng L, Liang Z, Wang Q, Ou A · Internal Medicine · 2016
DOI 10.2169/internalmedicine.55.5546
Objective
To investigate the efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal medicine auxiliary therapy combined with pharmacotherapy compared with pharmacotherapy alone for treating childhood cough variant asthma.
Conclusions
Chinese herbal medicine auxiliary therapy may improve the total effective rate, cough and asthma symptoms, and recurrence rate, with fewer adverse effects, in children with cough variant asthma compared with pharmacotherapy alone, although the existing evidence is limited by generally low methodological and reporting quality.
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Insights
Adding Chinese herbal medicine to standard drug treatment may improve childhood cough-variant asthma symptoms, reduce recurrence, and cause fewer adverse effects than drug treatment alone.
The researchers systematically reviewed randomized controlled trials comparing Chinese herbal medicine combined with standard pharmacological treatment against the same pharmacological treatment alone for children with cough-variant asthma. They assessed study quality and risk of bias using established systematic-review criteria and combined the available trial findings.
Across the included studies, combined herbal and pharmacological treatment was associated with better overall treatment response, improved cough and asthma-related symptoms, lower recurrence, and fewer adverse effects than pharmacological treatment alone. However, the included studies were generally limited by weak methodology and incomplete reporting.
