RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of Chinese herbal footbath plus traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) decoction in diabetic peripheral neuropathy. METHODS: This retrospective study enrolled 120 patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy treated in Shanghai Jinshan TCM-Integrated Hospital from January 2019 to January 2021. The eligible patients received either routine treatment (control group) or Chinese herbal GuBu Decoction footbath plus oral Yiqi Huoxue Decoction (experimental group), with 60 patients in each group. The duration of treatment was one month. Outcome measures included motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV) and sensory nerve conduction velocity (SNCV) of the common peroneal nerve, blood glucose, TCM symptom scores and clinical efficacy. RESULTS: TCM interventions resulted in significantly faster MNCV and SNCV versus routine treatment (P<0.05). Patients with TCM treatment exhibited lower fasting blood glucose, 2 h postprandial glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin than those with routine treatment (P<0.05). Remarkably lower TCM symptom scores were observed in the experimental group than in the control group (P<0.05). Chinese herbal GuBu Decoction footbath plus oral Yiqi Huoxue Decoction regimen was associated with a significantly higher clinical efficacy when comparing with routine treatment (P<0.05). The incidence of adverse events was not significantly different between the two groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Chinese herbal GuBu Decoction footbath plus oral Yiqi Huoxue Decoction can provide promising blood glucose control, alleviate clinical symptoms, accelerate nerve conduction speed and enhance clinical efficacy.