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Additional file 1: Appendix S1. The professional field of the steering committee and the expert consensus group. Appendix S2. Details of panel members��� declarations of interests. Appendix S3. Grading the certainty of evidence and the strength of recommendations. Appendix S4. Details of patients preference and values. Appendix S5. Details of expert consensus. Appendix S6. Summary of findings table.

Cordyceps sinensis (CS) is a complementary medicine used for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) of Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) stages 2-3. Many randomized controlled trials have been conducted to evaluate the effect of CS alone or in combination with other herbs on stable COPD. To provide a synthesis of the evidence, we searched nine major electronic databases for randomized controlled trials on CS published before 21st December 2016. Fifteen interventional studies, including 1,238 participants, met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis showed that both CS preparations and CS formulae showed the potential benefits in lung function, exercise endurance, life quality, and improvement of symptoms. No serious adverse events were reported. So CS may be a promising treatment for patients with stable COPD of GOLD stages 2-3. No studies were placebo-controlled or of high methodological quality, which limits the conclusions.

Delays in recovery of intestinal function following abdominal surgery are associated with longer hospital stays, increased postoperative complications, and higher costs to the health care system. Studies of acupuncture for postoperative ileus and other postoperative issues have reported improvements. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess whether acupuncture assisted recovery following surgery for colorectal cancer (CRC). Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were identified from major English and Chinese language biomedical databases. Participants (aged 18 years plus) had received surgical resection for CRC. 22 studies (1,628 participants) were included. Five were sham-controlled. Outcomes included gastrointestinal function recovery (21 studies), recovery of urinary function (1 study), postoperative abdominal distension (3 studies), and quality of life (1 study). Meta-analyses found significant reductions in time to first bowel sounds, first flatus, and first defecation in both the sham-controlled and nonblinded studies. These results suggested that the addition of acupuncture following CRC surgery improved recovery of gastrointestinal function based on four blinded good quality RCTs (281 participants) and 17 nonblinded lower quality RCTs (1,265 participants). The best available evidence was for interventions that included electroacupuncture at the point ST36 Zusanli and there is supporting evidence for other types of acupuncture therapies that involve stimulation of this point. This review is registered with the following: systematic review registration in PROSPERO: CRD42017079590.

Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is increasingly used by patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); however, there has been no systematic evaluation of its safety. This review examined the adverse events (AEs) reported in clinical studies of CHM for COPD. Five English databases (PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, AMED, and CENTRAL) and four Chinese databases (CBM, CNKI, CQVIP, and Wanfang Data) were searched from inception to May 2013. Adverse event data, including nature, severity, author-assigned causality, management, and outcome, were extracted from included studies. Descriptive statistics were used for the rate of adverse events. Of the 152 included studies, AEs were reported in 47 studies. The rate of adverse events was slightly lower in the CHM groups compared with controls (84 events in 5,909 participants, 1.4% versus 102 events in 5,676 participants, 1.8%). The most frequently reported adverse event was nausea (28 cases in the CHM groups and 19 cases in the control groups), which was more common in studies where CHM was combined with pharmacotherapy to treat acute exacerbation of COPD. Other frequent adverse events were abdominal discomfort, dry mouth, and dizziness. Detailed information about the adverse events was scant. Overall, CHM appears to be well tolerated in people with COPD.

Objective. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Weijing decoction combined with routine pharmacotherapy (RP) for the treatment of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). Methods. Randomized controlled trials (RCT) evaluating Weijing decoction for AECOPD were included. English, Chinese, and Japanese databases were searched from their respective inceptions to June 2013. The methodological quality was assessed according to the Cochrane Collaboration’s risk of bias tool. All data were analyzed and synthesized using RevMan 5.2 software. Results. Fifteen (15) studies involving 986 participants were included. Participants were diagnosed with COPD in the acute exacerbation stage. In addition, most of studies reported that they included participants with the Chinese medicine syndrome, phlegm-heat obstructing the Lung. Weijing decoction combined with RP improved lung function (forced expiratory volume in one second; FEV1), arterial blood gases (PaO2 and PaCO2), clinical effective rate, and reduced inflammatory biomarkers (TNF-α and IL-8) when compared with RP alone. No severe adverse events were reported in these studies. Conclusions. Weijing decoction appeared to be beneficial for AECOPD and well-tolerated when taken concurrently with RP, such as antibiotics, bronchodilators (oral and inhaled), and mucolytics.

Objective. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral Huangqi formulae for the treatment of stable COPD. Methods. The major databases were searched until September 2010 and supplemented with a manual search. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of oral Huangqi formulae that reported on lung function, St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire, symptom improvement and/or frequency of exacerbations were extracted by two reviewers. The Cochrane tool was used for the assessment of risk of bias in the included trials. Data were analyzed with RevMan 5.1.2 software. Results. 25 RCTs (1,661 participants) were included. Compared with conventional therapy (CT) alone, oral Huangqi formulae plus CT increased FEV1, and a similar result was found comparing Huangqi formulae with no treatment. Improvements in SGRQ total score, COPD-related symptoms and reduction of frequency of exacerbations were found in patients receiving Huangqi formulae plus CT compared to those receiving CT alone or CT plus placebo. No serious adverse events were reported. However, there were some methodological inadequacies in the included studies. Conclusions. The benefits of Huangqi formulae for stable COPD were promising, but its efficacy and safety have not been established due to methodological weakness and possible bias in the reported results. Further rigorously designed studies are warranted.

Psoriasis vulgaris is the most common form of psoriasis. Phototherapy has been proven effective for psoriasis, but side effects have become a concern. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) bath combined with phototherapy has been used in clinical settings, but the additional benefit requires evaluation. This review aims to evaluate the additional benefit and safety of adding CHM bath to phototherapy for psoriasis vulgaris. Cochrane library, PubMed, Embase, CNKI, and CQVIP were searched from their inceptions to 6 August 2012. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing CHM bath plus phototherapy to phototherapy alone for psoriasis vulgaris were included. Data was analyzed using Review Manager 5.1.0. Thirteen RCTs were included in the review, and eight were included in the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed higher efficacy of CHM bath plus phototherapy when compared with phototherapy alone in terms of PASI 60 (RR 1.25; 95% CI: 1.18–1.32). Mild adverse events were reported in ten studies, but these could be alleviated by reducing UV dosage or applying emollient. In conclusion, CHM bath appears to be a beneficial and safe adjunctive therapy to phototherapy for psoriasis vulgaris. However, these results should be interpreted with caution due to the low methodological quality of the included studies.