ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo carry out the clinical comprehensive evaluation of Biantong capsules and Biantong tablets in the treatment of constipation guided by the clinical value of drugs， and to provide a scientific basis for the rational pricing， rational use， and cataloging of Biantong capsules/tablets. MethodThe available evidence and survey data were used for the clinical comprehensive evaluation of Biantong capsules/tablets and three control drugs in the treatment of constipation in terms of the six dimensions including effectiveness， safety， economics， innovation， suitability， and accessibility. ResultIn terms of effectiveness， Biantong capsules/tablets can improve the response rate， with clear pharmacological mechanism. In terms of safety， the absence of toxic reaction， the mild adverse reactions， and the favorable prognosis indicate high safety. In terms of economics， the average daily cost of Biantong capsules/tablets is the lowest among the tested drugs， which indicates a cost-effectiveness advantage. In terms of innovation， Biantong capsules/tablets have been authorized patents in China and listed as members in the third category of new drugs of traditional Chinese medicine/ninth new drugs of traditional Chinese medicine. In terms of suitability， Biantong capsules/tablets are convenient to store and take and have good suitability in terms of drug technical characteristics and drug usage. In terms of accessibility， Biantong capsules/tablets have a wide coverage in hospitals， sufficient capacity， low patient burden， extensive drug catalogue coverage， and no major environmental risk for long-term application. The comprehensive values of the tested drugs follow a descending order of control drug B （84.27 score）， Biantong capsules/tablets （82.47 score）， control drug A （70.47 score）， and control drug C （59.46 score）. The recommendations of the expert panel are Class A （18/18）， which can be directly converted into decision-making. ConclusionBiantong capsules/tablets demonstrate a high clinical comprehensive value in the treatment of constipation， providing a reference for the rational pricing， rational use， and cataloging of drugs.
ABSTRACT
Health research priority setting， based on the existing disease burden or healthcare needs， screens out specific areas or topics with relatively high research priority by scientific and systematic methods， and optimizes the allocation of health resources by influencing healthcare decision-making， so as to alleviate the imbalance between regional or global health and development. Many developed countries have carried out related research and practical work on different scales， and the World Health Organization （WHO） attaches great importance to the transformation and application of relevant achievements in developing countries. As the largest developing country in the world， China's research in this field started relatively late， and only a small number of scholars have carried out part of the localization methodology research and practice according to the specific national conditions. However， health research priority setting has not yet attracted the attention of large-scale research institutions or government organizations in China. Although the priority setting is rarely mentioned in the research on traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， the research and decision-making on the diseases responding specifically to TCM can also be regarded as the practical work of exploring the priority of TCM. Policymakers have a sense of priority support in the "priority of TCM research"， but the decisions from the top design are mainly based on the consensus reached by high-level think tanks. There is a lack of extensive research， and moreover， the data of multiple stakeholders are not included. Therefore， it is urgent to introduce appropriate priority setting methods to solve the problem of transparency and scientificity in the decision-making process. Given the perspective of the specific implementation， the present study introduced three international priority setting methods， i.e.， the James Lind Alliance and Priority Setting Partnerships（JLAPSP，）the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative（CHNRI）， and the Council on Health Research and Development （COHRED）， and presented relevant recommendations on how to apply them in the research of TCM， which is expected to provide references for the local research.
ABSTRACT
ObjectiveThis study performed a scoping review to comprehensively analyze and report the information on the instructions of Chinese patent medicines and clinical research evidence for the treatment of respiratory diseases in children. MethodChinese patent medicines against respiratory diseases in children were obtained by searching the three major drug catalogues. The Chinese and English databases were searched for relevant literature，followed by data statistics and visualized analysis. ResultAfter screening and analysis，52 Chinese patent medicines were included，involving nine dosage forms. The main drugs were Scutellariae Radix，Armeniacae Semen Amarum，Forsythiae Fructus，etc. The main functions included clearing heat and releasing exterior syndrome，and relieving cough and dissipating phlegm. The indications mainly included common cold with wind-heat syndrome and cough in children. Adverse drug reactions and contraindications were only specified in 19.23% （10/52） of Chinese patent medicines，and the rest only displayed "unclear". A total of 279 articles were included，including 277 articles from Chinese Core Periodicals and two articles from SCIE. In terms of research type，those articles included 253 randomized controlled trials （RCTs，with six dosage form/dose comparisons involved），11 retrospective analyses based on Hospital Information System （HIS） data，one case series，13 systematic reviews/Meta-analyses （with two network Meta-analyses involved），and one economic evaluation article. Among them，72.76% （203/279） of the articles were published in the Core Journals of Chinese Science and Technology. Only 33 Chinese patent medicines were involved，and Xiaoer Feire Kechuan Oral Liquid was the top 1 under investigation，accounting for 15.71% （44/280）. The indicated diseases were mainly infantile pneumonia，bronchitis，respiratory tract infection，cough，asthma，and other western medicine diseases. Xiaoer Chiqiao Qingre Granules and Xiaoer Dingchuan Oral Liquid were used off-label. The sample size was concentrated in 51-150 cases，accounting for 67.17% （178/265）. The interventions in the experimental group were mainly Chinese patent medicine + western medicine + basic treatment or Chinese patent medicine + western medicine. The main outcomes were the effective rate and the improvement of clinical symptoms. The adverse reactions were mainly gastrointestinal reactions，drug-induced skin symptoms，etc.，and two studies have shown that drug doses were associated with adverse reactions. ConclusionIn research years，the research on Chinese patent medicines in the treatment of respiratory diseases in children has advanced rapidly. However，there are still some problems that need to be resolved in the future，such as incomplete information on drug content in the instruction，concentrated drugs to be studied，limited indications，failure to highlight the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndromes，unstandardized research design，and an incomplete reflection of Chinese patent medicine.
ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo clarify the development and methodological research status of clinical comprehensive evaluation of Chinese patent medicines in China and identify the problems and difficulties in the evaluation， so as to provide a reference for promoting the subsequent evaluation. MethodFirstly， we analyzed the current situation of clinical comprehensive evaluation in China by reviewing the articles about the process of clinical comprehensive evaluation of drugs and the process of clinical comprehensive evaluation of Chinese patent medicines. Secondly， we comprehensively summarized the formulation background and key points of policies related to clinical comprehensive evaluation of Chinese patent medicines and then show the development status in this field at the national and provincial levels. ResultThe comprehensive clinical evaluation of Chinese patent medicines is still in its infancy in China， and 32 articles of specific evaluation of Chinese patent medicines were included in the study. The dosage forms were mainly capsules （15 articles， 46.88%） and injections （28.13%）. The evaluation mainly involved diseases such as the nervous system （10 articles， 31.25%）， digestive system （5 articles， 15.63%）， and respiratory system （5 articles， 15.63%）. The research results of clinical comprehensive evaluation of Chinese patent medicines were mainly from relevant societies and research institutions. Different research teams have developed technical guidelines or specifications for the evaluation， while the government-leading evaluation guidelines remained to be formulated at the national and provincial levels. In addition， the research articles in this field mainly concentrated on the application of evaluation methods， the building of evaluation index systems， and completed evaluation reports. ConclusionTo reflect the unique value and advantages of Chinese patent medicines， the government needs to build technical guidelines for the clinical comprehensive evaluation of Chinese patent medicines on the basis of the clinical comprehensive evaluation of drugs and create a favorable policy environment for the evaluation work.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the quality of research literature on pharmacoeconomics of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） in China from 2018 to 2022， to understand the development status and problems of TCM pharmacoeconomic research in China， and to provide a reference for future standardized research on this field. METHODS The systematic search of relevant databases at home and abroad was conducted to obtain the published literature on TCM pharmacoeconomic research in China from January 1， 2018 to November 21， 2022 to summarize the basic information of the literature， the research profile， the method and content of pharmacoeconomic evaluation and to evaluate the quality of the literature by using the CHEERS 2022 checklist； calculate the total literature score by counting the scores of the specific entries of each piece of literature and classifying the quality of the literature as excellent， good， qualified， and unqualified. RESULTS A total of 71 studies were included， involving 60 in Chinese and 11 in English， and 53.52% of the literature was supported by grants； the most studied TCM dosage form was injection （31.03%）； less than half （46.48%） of the literature reported the study angle； short-term economic evaluation was predominantly used （69.01%）； the Chinese studies were dominated by cost-effectiveness analyses （70.00%）， and the English studies were dominated by cost-utility analysis （54.55%）. The average score of literature quality evaluation was 11.02， with two （2.82%） of the literature being of good quality， nine （12.68%） of the literature being of qualified quality， and the majority of the literature （84.51%） being of unqualified quality. The average score of Chinese literature was 9.98， and the average score of English literature was 16.73， with the quality of the latter being significantly better than that of the former. CONCLUSIONS At present， the pharmacoeconomic researches of TCM mainly has problems such as lack of scientific selection of intervention in the control group， nonstandard cost measurement， unreasonable selection of research time limit， quality of evidence for health output indicators to be improved， selection of evaluation methods to be improved， and lack of scientific basis for threshold selection. In order to support the implementation and development of high-level pharmacoeconomics research on TCM， policymakers need to create a favorable policy environment and formulate pharmacoeconomic evaluation guidelines that meet the characteristics of TCM， so as to promote the application and transformation of evaluation results.
ABSTRACT
To understand the development status and provide the basis for the construction and development of health technology assessment （HTA） institutions/organizations in China， this paper systematically reviewed the status of international HTA institutions/organizations and the HTA institutions/organizations in western developed countries and some Asian countries. This study was based on the results of the second round of global survey on HTA conducted by the World Health Organization （WHO） in 2020/2021. The websites of WHO， International HTA Database （INAHTA）， international HTA institutions/organizations， and the HTA institutions/organizations in different countries were searched. After data extraction and classification， we summarized the status of 9 international HTA institutions/organizations （including Decide： Health Decision Hub， Health Technology Assessment International， HTAsiaLink， International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment， European Network for Health Technology Assessment， Health Technology Assessment Network of the Americas， International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research， Southern African Health Technology Assessment Society， International Information Network on New and Emerging Health Technologies）， 11 HTA institutions/organizations in western developed countries and Asian countries （including Canada， France， Germany， the United Kingdom， Australia， the United States， Japan， Malaysia， South Korea， Singapore， and Thailand）， and 6 HTA organizations/teams in China. The use of HTA varies greatly because of different medical and health systems among different countries， and thus the role of HTA in health decision-making varies among different countries. The international HTA institutions/organizations have greatly strengthened the communication between HTA institutions/organizations and the pharmaceutical industry and facilitated the promotion and practice of evidence-based health decision-making.
ABSTRACT
This paper aims to systematically retrieve and summarize the clinical evidence on oral Chinese patent medicine in otorhinolaryngology by scoping review and analyze the distribution of the evidence， which is expected to serve as a reference for clinical practice and healthcare decision-making. Seven databases were searched （from inception to March 2022） for the clinical evidence of oral Chinese patent medicine in the prevention and treatment of otorhinolaryngologic diseases， and the distribution of the evidence was discussed. A total of 248 papers from core journals/SCI were included： 238 clinical studies （185 randomized controlled trials， 46 semi-/non-randomized controlled trials， 7 case series studies）， 5 systematic reviews， 4 guidelines/expert consensuses， and 1 pharmacoeconomic study. The papers covered 26 oral Chinese patent medicines and 40 otorhinolaryngological diseases （5 ear diseases， 22 nose diseases， and 13 throat diseases）. The majority of the clinical studies included 100-300 cases. The combination of Chinese patent medicine and western medicine is the common intervention in the experimental group. The outcomes were mainly “cure rate” and improvement of clinical symptoms. Common adverse events were nausea， vomiting， rash， headache， gastrointestinal discomfort， fatigue， etc. In summary， there is a lack of high-quality clinical evidence on oral Chinese patent medicine in otorhinolaryngology. In addition， the available studies have such problems as seldom use of recognized outcomes， low quality of clinical studies， and lack of pharmacoeconomic study. In future， efforts should be made to carry out more rigorous primary and secondary research and enhance the pharmacoeconomic evaluation， in a bid to explore the advantages of Chinese patent medicine in the treatment of otorhinolaryngologic diseases and promote the more rational allocation and application of health resources.
ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo evaluate the safety， efficacy， and economy of the four Chinese patent medicines （CPMs）， including Simotang oral liquid， Liuwei Anxiao capsule， Baohe pill， and Jianwei Xiaoshi oral liquid in the treatment of functional dyspepsia （FD） by a rapid health technology assessment （RHTA）， thus providing evidence support for clinical decision making. MethodChina National Knowledge Infrastructure （CNKI）， WanFang Database， VIP Chinese Technology Periodical Database （VIP）， China Biology Medicine disc （CBMdisc）， PubMed， EMBASE， Cochrane Library， and Web of Science were searched by computer from inception to March 2022. After literature screening， data extraction， and quality evaluation， the descriptive analysis of the results combined with visual charts was performed. Nineteen studies were included， involving 18 randomized controlled trials （RCTs） and 1 Meta-analysis. Neither economic studies nor health technology assessment （HTA） reports were retrieved. ResultThe four CPMs were safe and effective in the treatment of FD， but economic research was lacking. Among them， Simotang oral liquid could be used for children with FD and FD caused by qi and food stagnation， liver and spleen disharmony， and liver and spleen stagnation. Liuwei Anxiao capsule could be used for adult patients with FD caused by food stagnation. Baohe pill could be used for the elderly with FD. Jianwei Xiaoshi oral liquid could be used for children with FD caused by spleen and stomach weakness. ConclusionThe four CPMs have their advantages in the treatment of FD. Among them， the clinical universality of Simotang oral liquid is higher. However， the quality of clinical evidence is generally low， and comparative analysis among drug dosage forms is lacking. In the future， it is necessary to improve， apply， and promote RHTA for rapid evidence production while carrying out a more standardized and scientific evidence-based demonstration of the comprehensive clinical efficacy of CPMs.
ABSTRACT
This study systematically and comprehensively sorted out the application status of Chinese patent medicines for the treatment of constipation in the clinic， to provide scientific evidence for future research directions and clinical drug use in this field. Based on the method of scoping review， the Chinese patent medicines for the treatment of constipation were retrieved from three drug lists to obtain the medicines that needed to be evaluated. A comprehensive and systematic search was carried out on the included studies on the treatment of constipation by Chinese patent medicines through eight Chinese and English databases， and the included studies were integrated and analyzed. The results were displayed in combination with charts. Thirty-four Chinese patent medicines and 118 studies were included in this study. According to the efficacies， Chinese patent medicines were divided into 4 categories， namely eliminating accumulation， purging fire， promoting Qi， and moistening bowels， involving 125 Chinese medicines. The overall attention of constipation research is on the rise. Marenwan （granules or soft capsules） gained the highest attention， with 42 studies， followed by Qirong Runchang oral liquid， with 21 studies， and Biantong tablets （capsules）， with 19 studies. There are 10 studies on Congrong Tongbian oral liquid. Seventeen Chinese patent medicines had no corresponding clinical research. There were 8 study design types， and all drugs were mainly randomized controlled trials except Danggui Longhui pill. Among the intervention types， the comparison between Chinese patent medicines and western medicines was the most. The highest outcome indicators were efficacy， safety evaluation， and main symptoms or scores， and there was a lack of a unified core outcome indicator set. There were few studies on adverse reactions and the economy. Only 11.86% of the studies were funded. Clinically， Chinese patent medicines are widely used in the treatment of constipation， and the amount of related research shows an increasing trend. However， some Chinese patent medicines lack corresponding clinical evidence， and the published research has problems such as unrigorous design， ununified criteria for efficacy evaluation， lack of comprehensive evidence studies， and insufficient funds. It is hoped that more investment will be made in this field in the future， and more attention will be paid to drugs with relatively blank research and constipation syndromes with few treatments. Comprehensive evidence studies such as systematic reviews should be carried out actively. And the study design should be standardized to provide reliable evidence for the treatment of constipation with Chinese patent medicines.
ABSTRACT
The research of acupuncture and moxibustion for endometrial receptivity in recent 10 years was reviewed. CNKI and PubMed databases were retrieved with "acupuncture" "moxibustion" and "endometrial receptivity" as key words. The retrieving time was from January of 2007 through December of 2016. As a result, 63 relevant papers were collected and 28 papers regarding clinical and experimental researches of acupuncture for endometrial receptivity were included into analysis. It was found that acupuncture and moxibustion could improve endometrial morphology (including the expression of pinopodes, endometrial thickness and the rate of endometrial type A), reduce the endometrial microcirculation (including endometrial pulsatility index, resistance index and hemodynamic index), increase the levels of estrogen and progesterone and the expressions of their receptors, and regulate the expression of molecular biological regulator (such as integrin, leukemia inhibitory factor, vascular endothelial growth factor and HOXA10). As a result, the endometrial receptivity was improved to provide good environment for embryo implantation and improve the pregnancy rate, which had significant advantage in the field of assisted reproductive technology. However, detections of pinopodes and integrin were invasive. Its application for clinical use had limitations. In addition, the evidence of acupuncture improving endometrial receptivity was still insufficient. By reviewing related research result, this paper further summarized and analyzed the action mechanism of acupuncture for endometrial receptivity to provide references for the clinical treatment.