Meta-analysis and Construction of Core Indicator Field of Pediatric Bronchitis Treated by Chinese Herbs Acupoint Application Therapy

Abstract Objective  Our objective was to explore the commonly used herbs, acupoints, and efficacy evaluation indicators of Chinese herbs acupoint application therapy in the treatment of pediatric bronchitis, screen and construct the core index field, and systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of Chinese herbs acupoint application therapy in the treatment of this disease. Methods  Chinese periodical databases such as China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang database, VIP Information, and Chinese Biomedical Literature database were searched, and the literature information was extracted manually to establish data tables for data analysis and the key efficacy evaluation index field. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Cochrane Systematic Bias Risk Assessment Tool and the relevant efficacy indicators were meta-analyzed using RevMan 5.3 software. Results  The most commonly used herbs in acupoint application therapy were wind-cold dispersing herbs and cough-asthma relieving herbs. Feishu (BL 13), Danzhong (RN 17), and Tiantu (RN 22) were the main acupoints. The core indicators were effective rate, improvement of main symptoms/signs, onset time, disappearance time, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome score, and symptom score. Meta-analysis results showed that the total effective rate was 0.11 (0.08, 0.33) ( Z  = 8.64, p  < 0.00001), I 2  = 39%; due to the heterogeneity of cough, expectoration, asthma, and other indicators, the meta-analysis was abandoned. Conclusion  In terms of total efficiency, Chinese medicine acupoint application therapy is superior to conventional Western medicine in efficacy and shortening the time of symptoms of pediatric asthmatic bronchitis. However, as the quality of the evidence included in the study is medium and low, and in the selection of indicators, there are more composite and relatively subjective indicators such as total effective rate, TCM syndrome score, and symptom score. Therefore, it is necessary to further standardize the efficacy indicators in this field and carry out high-quality and detailed Chinese medicine clinical randomized controlled trials.