title: [Meta-analysis of magnesium isoglycyrrhizinate combined with nucleoside analogues in patients with chronic hepatitis B].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the magnesium isoglycyrrhizinate plus nucleoside analogues (MGL + NA) combination therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis B using a meta-analysis approach.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Chinese Biochemical literature on Disc (CBMDisc) and the Chinese Scientific Journal database, CNKI, were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of MGL+NA in patients with chronic hepatitis B published between 1995 and 2013. Data related to treatment type (combination therapy vs. mono-therapy) and outcome (markers of efficacy and safety, including levels of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA, hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST)). Weighted mean differences (WMD) were calculated and the Peto method was used to determine the relative risk (RR), both with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Meta-analysis of the six included RCTs of MGL + NA, representing a 704 patients with chronic hepatitis B, showed WMDs for ALT of -12.98 (95% CI: -18.24 to -7.71, P less than 0.01) and for AST of -9.49 (95% CI: -14.53 to -4.45, P = 0.0002) and RRs for HBeAg of 1.79 (95% CI: 1.17 to 2.76, P = 0.008) and for HBV DNA of 1.35 (95% CI: 1.05 to 1.74, P = 0.02). The therapeutic efficacy of MGL+NA combination therapy was better than that of NA mono-therapy (P less than 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For patients with chronic hepatitis B, MGL combination therapy may enhance the antiviral efficacy of NA treatment and help to improve liver function during treatment.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Infectious Diseases of PLA, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China.
authors.forename: Ze-Hui
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Yu-Ming
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Yue-Cheng
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Deng-Ming
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Xiao-Hong
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Mao