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Introduction. Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) imposes a large burden on economy and society worldwide. In addition to western medicine, multiple kinds of qi-tonifying Chinese medicine injections have been widely used in China as adjunctive treatments. Previous small-sample clinical trials have proven their efficacy in the treatment of AECOPD. However, data on comparative effectiveness and safety of qi-tonifying injections are limited. We conducted this network meta-analysis to compare the efficacy and safety of 7 commonly used qi-tonifying injections in patients with AECOPD. Methods. Literature search was conducted through electronic databases, including PubMed, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, CINAHL, AMED, CBM, CNKI, Wanfang database, and VIP database. Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) exploring the efficacy of any of these 7 qi-tonifying injections were included. The primary outcome was lung function (FEV1 and FVC). R 4.0.0 and STATA 12.0 were adopted to perform the network meta-analysis using Bayesian statistics. Results. A total of 36 RCTs involving 2657 participants were included. The results of network meta-analyses indicated that Chuankezhi injection (CKZ) combined with routine treatment (RT) was superior to other qi-tonifying injections combined with RT in terms of FEV1 improvement (MD = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.22, 1.04). For improving FVC, Shengmai injection (SGM) combined with RT showed the greatest therapeutic effect (MD = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.13, 0.61). Moreover, SGM combined with RT revealed the best estimates for response rate (MD = 4.00, 95% CI: 1.34, 13.63). The main adverse events in this study were gastrointestinal reactions and injection site reactions. No serious adverse events were reported. Conclusion. In this network meta-analysis, SGM and CKZ were potential best adjunctive therapies in the treatment of AECOPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to investigate potential cardioprotection of Danlou Tablets in patients undergoing PCI with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS). 219 patients with NSTE-ACS were randomised to Danlou Tablet pretreatment (n=109) or placebo (n=110). No patients received statins prior to PCI and all patients were given atorvastatin (10 mg/day) after procedure. The main endpoint was the composite incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) within 30 days after PCI. The proportion of patients with elevated levels of cTn I>5 × 99% of upper reference limit was significantly lower in the Danlou Tablet group at 8 h (22.0% versus 34.5%, p=0.04) and 24 h (23.9% versus 38.2%, p=0.02) after PCI. The 30-day MACEs occurred in 22.0% of the Danlou Tablet group and 33.6% in the placebo group (p=0.06). The incidence of MACE at 90-day follow-up was significantly decreased in the Danlou Tablet group compared to the placebo group (23.9% versus 37.3%, p=0.03). The difference between the groups at 90 days was the incidence of nonfatal myocardial infarction (22% versus 34.5%, p=0.04). These findings might support that treatment with Danlou Tablet could reduce the incidence of periprocedural myocardial infarction in patients with ACS undergoing PCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qingkailing (QKL), Reduning (RDN), Xiyanping (XYP), Tanreqing (TRQ) and Yuxingcao (YXC) injections are all phlegm-heat clearing Chinese medicine (CM) injections composed of the extract from traditional CM materials. Evidence from clinical studies and animal experiments indicates that the above CM injections are effective supplementary therapy for acute exacerbation chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD), and clinicians are faced with a difficult choice on the optimal phlegm-heat clearing CM injection for AECOPD. This systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of five commonly used phlegm-heat clearing CM injections for COPD. A pairwise and network meta-analyses were performed to assess the effectiveness of QKL, RDN, TRQ, XYP and YXC on AECOPD. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were identified by searching English and Chinese databases. The primary outcome was lung function (forced expiration volume [FEV1] and forced vital capacity [FVC]), blood gas analysis index was secondary outcome measure. Winbugs and Stata 15.0 software were used for data analysis. A total of 57 RCTs were included. The pairwise analyses showed that each of the injections combined with routine treatment were superior to routine treatment alone [FEV1: QKL, MD 0.20, 95% CI (0.06, 0.35); RDN, MD 0.24, 95% CI (0.08, 0.40); TRQ, MD 0.24, 95% CI (0.19, 0.29); XYP, MD 0.26, 95% CI (0.20, 0.32); YXC MD 0.73, 95% CI (0.06, 1.41)]. The network meta-analysis provided the following rank of lung function improvement: FEV1: YXC > TRQ > XYP > RDN > QKL; FVC: YXC > TRQ > QKL > RDN > XYP. RDN and YXC ranked highest in blood gas analysis index. RDN was the highest ranked injection for effectiveness, followed by QKL, TRQ, XYP, then YXC. Most of the injections appeared safe, with severe adverse events rarely reported. This study suggests that YXC and TRQ are the most effective therapies in treating AECOPD patients. RDN and YXC are more effective in the alleviation of clinical symptoms. Given that the safety of YXC is controversial, TRQ and RDN may be preferable as phlegm-heat clearing CM injections in the adjuvant treatment of AECOPD. [Display omitted] ● This study is the first network meta-analysis that examines phlegm-heat clearing injections related to the treatment of acute exacerbation chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) patients. ● The surface under the cumulative ranking curves was used to estimate the hierarchy of the different injections. ● Phlegm-heat clearing Chinese medicine injections can improve the effective rate, lung function, and arterial blood gas in treating AECOPD. ● Tanreqing injection and Reduning injection were more recommended for treating AECOPD as complementary and alternative therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]