title: Shengmai injection, a traditional chinese patent medicine, for intradialytic hypotension: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: Intradialytic hypotension (IDH) is a global public health problem. A rising number of IDH sufferers resort to Chinese patent medicine, Shengmai Injection (SMI) in China. The objectives of present study are to assess the effectiveness and safety of SMI as an adjunct therapy for IDH. A systematic search of 6 medical databases was performed up to December 2011. Randomized trials involving SMI adjuvant therapy versus conventional therapy were identified. RevMan 5.0 was used for data analysis. Ten randomized clinical trials with 437 participants were identified. Methodological quality was considered inadequate in all trials. Compared with conventional therapy, SMI adjunct therapy showed significant effects in improving the clinic effective rate (P < 0.01), decreasing the incidence of IDH episode (P < 0.01), decreasing the frequency of nursing interventions (P < 0.01), and increasing diastolic blood pressure (P < 0.01). There was no statistical significance in the improvement of mean arterial pressure (P = 0.22) and systolic blood pressure (P = 0.08) between two groups. Four studies had mentioned adverse events, but no serious adverse effects were reported in any of the included trials. In conclusion, SMI adjunct therapy appears to be potentially effective in treatment of IDH and is generally safe. However, further rigorous designed trials are needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical College, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325027, China.
authors.forename: Chao-Yang
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ling-Yan
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Kang-Ting
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Jia-Feng
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Peng-Lin
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Ji-Fei
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang