title: Treatment of cholecystitis with Chinese herbal medicines: a systematic review of the literature.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze the literature on the use of Chinese herbal medicines for the treatment of cholecystitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  The literature on treatment of cholecystitis with traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) was analyzed based on the principles and methods described by evidence-based medicine (EBM). Eight databases including MEDLINE, EMbase, Cochrane Central (CCTR), four Chinese databases (China Biological Medicine Database, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, Database of Chinese Science and Technology Periodicals, Database of Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology) and Chinese Clinical Registry Center, were searched. Full text articles or abstracts concerning TCM treatment of cholecystitis were selected, categorized according to study design, the strength of evidence, the first author's hospital type, and analyzed statistically.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A search of the literature published from 1977 through 2009 yielded 1468 articles in Chinese and 9 in other languages; and 93.92% of the articles focused on clinical studies. No article was of level I evidence, and 9.26% were of level II evidence. The literature cited by Science Citation Index (SCI), MEDLINE and core Chinese medical journals accounted for 0.41%, 0.68% and 7.29%, respectively. Typically, the articles featured in case reports of illness, examined from the perspective of EBM, were weak in both quality and evidence level, which inconsistently conflicted with the fact that most of the papers were by authors from Level-3 hospitals, the highest possible level evaluated based on their comprehensive quality and academic authenticity in China.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The published literature on TCM treatment of cholecystitis is of low quality and based on low evidence, and cognitive medicine may functions as a useful supplementary framework for the evaluation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Pu Tian University, Putian 351100, Fujian Province, China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Yong
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Guan-Liang
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: De-Zeng
authors.initials: DZ
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Chang-Quan
authors.initials: CQ
authors.lastname: Ling
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000592:standards*; D002764:Cholecystitis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal