Meta-Analysis
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Feb 6, 2024; 12(4): 766-776
Published online Feb 6, 2024. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v12.i4.766
Comprehensive effects of traditional Chinese medicine treatment on heart failure and changes in B-type natriuretic peptide levels: A meta-analysis
Li-Li Xia, Shu-Yun Yang, Jun-Yao Xu, Han-Qing Chen, Zhu-Yuan Fang
Li-Li Xia, Shu-Yun Yang, Jun-Yao Xu, Zhu-Yuan Fang, Hypertension Research Institute, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210004, Jiangsu Province, China
Han-Qing Chen, Department of General Practice, Southeast University Affiliated Zhongda Hospital, Nanjing 210009, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: Xia LL and Fang ZY proposed the concept of this study; Yang SY contributed to data collection; Xia LL and Xu JY drafted the first draft; Chen HQ contributed to the formal analysis of this study; Fang ZY conducted guiding research, methodology, and visualization; all authors participated in this study, validated the study, and jointly reviewed and edited the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Zhu-Yuan Fang, MD, Chief Physician, Hypertension Research Institute, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, No. 155 Hanzhong Road, Nanjing 210004, Jiangsu Province, China. fangzhuyuan@njucm.edu.cn
Received: November 30, 2023
Peer-review started: November 30, 2023
First decision: December 18, 2023
Revised: December 25, 2023
Accepted: January 15, 2024
Article in press: January 15, 2024
Published online: February 6, 2024
Processing time: 55 Days and 22.8 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: This study evaluated the effects of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) on heart failure (HF) patients by analyzing randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The meta-analysis results showed that TCM combined with conventional Western medicine treatment improved comprehensive clinical outcomes, reduced TCM syndrome scores, and decreased B-type natriuretic peptide levels. However, caution should be exercised due to the low and medium quality of the included RCTs. TCM shows promise as a complementary therapy for HF, but further high-quality research is needed to confirm its effectivenes.