Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of xingnaojing treatment for stroke.
Objective. Xingnaojing injection (XNJ) is a well-known traditional Chinese patent medicine (TCPM) for stroke. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of XNJ for stroke including ischemic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Methods. An extensive search was performed within using eight databases up to November 2013. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on XNJ for treatment of stroke were collected. Study selection, data extraction, quality assessment, and meta-analysis were conducted according to the Cochrane standards, and RevMan5.0 was used for meta-analysis. Results. This review included 13 RCTs and a total of 1,514 subjects. The overall methodological quality was poor. The meta-analysis showed that XNJ combined with conventional treatment was more effective for total efficacy, neurological deficit improvement, and reduction of TNF- α levels compared with those of conventional treatment alone. Three trials reported adverse events, of these one trial reported mild impairment of kidney and liver function, whereas the other two studies failed to report specific adverse events. Conclusion. Despite the limitations of this review, we suggest that XNJ in combination with conventional medicines might be beneficial for the treatment of stroke. Currently there are various methodological problems in the studies. Therefore, high-quality, large-scale RCTs are urgently needed.
Institute of Integrated Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China.
Weijun
0000-0002-4506-0942
W
Peng
Institute of Integrated Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China.
Jingjing
0000-0001-8521-7492
J
Yang
Institute of Integrated Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China.
Yang
0000-0002-1225-6017
Y
Wang
Institute of Integrated Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China.
Weihao
W
Wang
Institute of Integrated Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China.
Jianxia
0000-0001-8380-5880
J
Xu
Institute of Integrated Medicine, Hunan Provincial Tumor Hospital, Changsha 410013, China ; Institute of Integrated Medicine, The Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Xiangya Medical School, Central South University, Changsha 410013, China.
Lexing
0000-0002-6468-1357
L
Wang
Institute of Integrated Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China.
Zhihua
Z
Xing