{"title":"An umbrella review of Lianhua Qingwen combined with Western medicine for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019.","authors":"Kelu Yang, Jiaoyan Zhang, Liang Zhao, Luying Cheng, Yuanyuan Li, Yuchen Kang, Xiangyu Zhang, Yingying Kang","doi":"10.1097/HM9.0000000000000041","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Lianhua Qingwen combined with Western medicine (LHQW+WM) has been proposed as a viable treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Interestingly, umbrella reviews of systematic reviews (SRs), which provide the most comprehensive evidence, are the best evidence in evidence-based medicine. Therefore, an umbrella review of SRs that summarizes and evaluates the efficacy of LHQW+WM for COVID-19 is urgently required.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Overall, 6 databases were used to conduct a comprehensive literature search from inception to January 22, 2022. The corrected covered area (CCA) was used to analyze the overlapping between SRs. Meta-analysis was conducted when that of the included SRs was inappropriate. A MeaSurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR-2) was also employed to assess the quality of the included SRs.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In total, 12 SRs were identified, which included 12 unique primary studies. The included SRs ranged in quality from moderate to critically low and had an extremely high CCA (36.4%). Compared to conventional treatment, LHQW+WM showed efficacy concerning fatigue recovery [risk ratio (<i>RR</i>) = 1.69, 95% confidence interval (<i>CI</i>): 1.04-2.73, <i>n</i> = 2, <i>I</i><sup>2</sup> = 0%], cough recovery (<i>RR</i> = 1.65, 95% <i>CI</i>: 1.09-2.51, <i>n</i> = 3, <i>I</i><sup>2</sup> = 39.1%), and overall effective rates (<i>RR</i> = 1.17, 95% <i>CI</i>: 1.07-1.28, <i>n</i> = 3, <i>I</i><sup>2</sup> = 17.5%).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>LHQW+WM may improve the clinical symptoms of patients with COVID-19; however, the results should be interpreted cautiously because of the rigorous processes in the included SRs.</p><p><strong>Graphical abstract: </strong>http://links.lww.com/AHM/A32.</p>","PeriodicalId":93856,"journal":{"name":"Acupuncture and herbal medicine","volume":"2 3","pages":"143-151"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/ca/86/hm9-2-143.PMC9746252.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Acupuncture and herbal medicine","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1097/HM9.0000000000000041","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2022/12/8 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Lianhua Qingwen combined with Western medicine (LHQW+WM) has been proposed as a viable treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Interestingly, umbrella reviews of systematic reviews (SRs), which provide the most comprehensive evidence, are the best evidence in evidence-based medicine. Therefore, an umbrella review of SRs that summarizes and evaluates the efficacy of LHQW+WM for COVID-19 is urgently required.
Methods: Overall, 6 databases were used to conduct a comprehensive literature search from inception to January 22, 2022. The corrected covered area (CCA) was used to analyze the overlapping between SRs. Meta-analysis was conducted when that of the included SRs was inappropriate. A MeaSurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR-2) was also employed to assess the quality of the included SRs.
Results: In total, 12 SRs were identified, which included 12 unique primary studies. The included SRs ranged in quality from moderate to critically low and had an extremely high CCA (36.4%). Compared to conventional treatment, LHQW+WM showed efficacy concerning fatigue recovery [risk ratio (RR) = 1.69, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.04-2.73, n = 2, I2 = 0%], cough recovery (RR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.09-2.51, n = 3, I2 = 39.1%), and overall effective rates (RR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.07-1.28, n = 3, I2 = 17.5%).
Conclusion: LHQW+WM may improve the clinical symptoms of patients with COVID-19; however, the results should be interpreted cautiously because of the rigorous processes in the included SRs.