title: The clinical value of Huangqi injection in the treatment of leucopenia: a meta-analysis of clinical controlled trials.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Huangqi injection is derived from Astragalus membranaceus root. In China, recent reports of Huangqi injection for the treatment of leucopenia have emerged. However, a systematic review of these reports has not been performed. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis of clinical controlled trials to assess the clinical value of Huangqi injection in the treatment of leucopenia.
  
  
  METHODS
  We searched the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), Wanfang Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Scientific Journals Full-text Database (VIP), as well as PubMed and EMBASE to collect the data about trials of Huangqi injection for treating leucopenia. A meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.2 software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 13 studies involving 841 patients were included in this study. The overall study quality was lower according to the Jadad scale. The meta-analysis showed that experimentally treated patients experienced greater therapeutic efficacy and lower white blood cell counts than control groups treated with Western medicine (P < 0.05). No publication bias was evident, according to Egger's test.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The validity of this meta-analysis was limited by the overall poor quality of the included studies. Huangqi injection may have potential clinical value in the treatment of leucopenia, but confirmation with rigorously well-designed multi-center trials is needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Changzhou Tumor Hospital Soochow University, Changzhou, China.
authors.forename: Changsong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Changzhou Tumor Hospital Soochow University, Changzhou, China ; Department of Laboratory Medicine, Changzhou Tumor Hospital Soochow University, Changzhou, China.
authors.forename: Changtai
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Changzhou Tumor Hospital Soochow University, Changzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ling
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Changzhou Tumor Hospital Soochow University, Changzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xifa
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Changzhou Tumor Hospital Soochow University, Changzhou, China.
authors.forename: Chunlei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Changzhou Tumor Hospital Soochow University, Changzhou, China.
authors.forename: Judong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Changzhou Tumor Hospital Soochow University, Changzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yongping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D007970:Leukopenia / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D039781:PubMed
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal