RESUMO
PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in septic patients treated with ulinastatin. METHODS: PubMed, EmBase, and the Cochrane library were searched up to January 2021 to identify randomized controlled trials. The weight mean difference (WMD) and relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence intervals were used with the random-effects model. RESULTS: Twenty-three randomized controlled trials with 1903 septic patients were included. TCM significantly reduced the APACHE II score (WMD: -5.18; Pâ<â.001), interleukin-6 (WMD: -63.00; Pâ<â.001), tumor necrosis factor-α (WMD: -8.86; Pâ<â.001), c-reactive protein (WMD: -9.47; Pâ<â.001), mechanical ventilation duration (WMD: -3.98; Pâ<â.001), intensive care unit stay (WMD: -4.18; Pâ<â.001), procalcitonin (WMD: -0.53; Pâ<â.001), lipopolysaccharide (WMD: -9.69; Pâ<â.001), B-type natriuretic peptide (WMD: -159.87; Pâ<â.001), creatine kinase isoenzyme MB (WMD: -45.67; Pâ<â.001), cardiac troponin I (WMD: -0.66; Pâ<â.001), and all-cause mortality risk (RR: 0.55; Pâ<â.001). CONCLUSIONS: TCM lowers inflammation levels and reduces the risk of all-cause mortality for septic patients.