[Clinical observation of elderly idiopathic nephrotic syndrome treated with integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine].
OBJECTIVE
To observe the clinical effect of integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine (TCM-WM) in treating the elderly idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS).


METHODS
Eighty-two patients of the elderly INS were randomly divided into the TCM-WM group and the control group. Forty-one patients of the TCM-WM group were treated with prednisone, Cytoxan (CTX) and Chinese medicinal herbs according to Syndrome-type, the other 41 patients of the control group were treated with WM alone. Clinical remission rate, adverse reaction, recurrence rate and remission period were observed.


RESULTS
The complete remission rate and total remission rate of the TCM-WM group were 58.5% and 85.4%, significantly higher than those of the control group (39.0%, 63.4%, P < 0.01). The adverse reaction rate of the TCM-WM group (36.6%) was significantly lower than that of the control group (80.5%, P < 0.01). A follow-up of 35.1 +/- 9.7 months showed that there was no significant difference in the recurrence rate between two groups (P > 0.05), but the average remission period (30.6 +/- 3.8 months) of the TCM-WM group was significantly longer than that of the control group (12.7 +/- 3.7 months, P < 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
TCM-WM treatment is obviously superior to treatment with WM alone in increasing clinical remission rate, relieving adverse reaction rate and extending remission period.
Wei
L
L
Nanfang Hospital, First Military Medical University, Guangzhou (510515).
Ye
R
R
Chen
X
X
D000368:Aged; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009404:Nephrotic Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011241:Prednisone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012008:Recurrence
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D011241:Prednisone