Efficacy and safety of Jinhua Qinggan granules in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate, using meta-analysis, the efficacy and safety profile of Jinhua Qinggan granules (JHQG) in the treatment of novel coronavirus pneumonia. METHODS: We screened multiple publication databases (PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, WanFang, and VIP), using parameters designed to identify articles detailing randomized controlled trials relating to the treatment of novel coronavirus pneumonia with JHQG. The inclusion period for each search was the point of database inception to November 2022. Each piece of literature identified in our initial screening was independently reviewed by 2 researchers, who extracted the relevant data and evaluated the bias risk associated with the study. The data was split in 2: the control group (containing patients who had received routine treatment or placebo) and the experimental group (containing patients treated with JHQG). The meta-analysis was performed using Revman 5.4 software. The quality of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach. RESULTS: Four articles were selected for this study and combined included a total of 582 patients, which were subdivided into experimental (n = 347) and control (n = 235) groups. The results showed that treatment with JHQG could significantly: enhance the improvement rate of primary symptoms [relative ratio (RR) = 1.26,95% confidence interval (CI) (1.07, 1.49), P = .007] and fever [RR = 1.48, 95% CI (1.07, 2.04), P = .02]; decrease the viral nucleic acid in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) [RR = 2.04, 95% CI (1.15, 3.62), P = .02] and reduce the progression of pneumonia [RR = 0.34, 95% CI (0.17, 0.67), P = .002]. However, there was no significant difference between the 2 groups with regards to: the improvement rate of cough, nausea and vomiting, fatigue, computed tomography, or frequency of adverse reactions. CONCLUSIONS: Current evidence indicates that JHQG is effective in treating COVID-19, increasing the rate of improvement for fever, increasing the negative rate of viral nucleic acid in patients with COVID-19 and reducing the aggravation rate of pneumonia. These conclusions need to be verified by further rigorous studies, as the existing results were limited by the number and quality of the included studies.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Based Acupoint Application for Asthma Treatment in Children: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review.

Objective: By conducting a systematic review of the efficacy of acupoint application on children with asthma. Methods: We searched Chinese databases (CNKI, VIP, and Wanfang) and English databases (PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library) for studies from the establishment of the database to October 2021. The included literature studies were randomized control studies investigating the treatment of asthma in children by acupoint application. The primary outcomes included the cure rate, the resolution time of cough, and the resolution time of wheezing. The secondary outcomes included pulmonary function and interleukins. Stata 15 and RevMan 5.4 were used to analyze the extracted data. Results: A total of 24 related studies were included containing 2716 cases. The meta-analysis showed that TCM group was superior to control group in terms of cure rate, pulmonary function (FEV1), and resolution time of wheezing in children with asthma [RR = 1.26,95% (1.21,1.31), P < 0.05; SMD = 0.81, 95%CI (0.05,1.56), P < 0.05; WMD = -1.40, 95%CI (-1.75, -1.05), P < 0.05]. Conclusions: The present study shows that acupoint application is an effective treatment for children with asthma in China, especially in alleviating wheezing and improving quality of life.

Therapeutic Effects of Kangzhi Syrup in a Guinea Pig Model of Ovalbumin-Induced Cough Variant Asthma.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the possible effects and underlying mechanisms of Kangzhi syrup on ovalbumin- (OVA-) induced cough variant asthma (CVA) in guinea pigs. METHODS: All 48 guinea pigs were randomly assigned to four experimental groups: normal, OVA model with or without Kangzhi syrup (OVA and OVA + KZ), and OVA with Dexamethasone (OVA + DM). After sensitizing the guinea pigs, a cough challenge was performed by the inhalation of capsaicin. The antitussive effect, inflammatory cells, cytokines in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissue, and morphological changes were examined. RESULTS: Compared with model group, Kangzhi syrup effectively exerted an antitussive effect (p < 0.0001) and reduced the pneumonic anaphylacticitis by inhibiting the infiltration of total inflammatory cells (p < 0.0001) and reducing the percentage of eosinophil in BALF (p < 0.0001). Moreover, evidence from morphological studies also demonstrated that Kangzhi syrup inhibited the infiltration of inflammatory cells and ameliorated the structure changes. NF-κB and TGF-ß1 expression were attenuated in the OVA + KZ group versus the OVA group (p < 0.0001). Additionally, a semiquantitative analysis of TGF-ß1 expression also demonstrated that the Kangzhi syrup attenuated this profibrogenic growth factor (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrated that Kangzhi syrup exerted a considerable antitussive effect in CVA animal model, which depended on its marked impact on the anti-anaphylactic inflammation. Additionally, it could ameliorate the airway remodeling by inhibiting NF-κB and TGF-ß1 signal pathway.