title: Jingtong Granule: A Chinese Patent Medicine for Cervical Radiculopathy.
abstract: Objective. This paper systematically assessed the efficacy and safety of Jingtong granule (JG) for cervical radiculopathy (CR). Methods. Randomized controlled trials comparing JG with no intervention, placebo, or conventional therapies were retrieved. The trials testing JG combined with conventional therapies versus conventional therapies were also enrolled. Study selection, methodological assessment, data extraction, and analysis were conducted in accordance with the Cochrane standards. The strength of evidence was evaluated according to GRADE approach. Results. Three trials with 400 participants were included. Methodological quality was evaluated as generally low. One study found that JG showed significant difference on decreasing pain scores compared with placebo. Meta-analysis indicated that JG plus conventional analgesic exhibited a significant immediate effect on the pain scores (WMD = 1.63; 95% CI: 1.29 to 1.98; P < 0.00001). Additionally, JG combined with analgesic presented beneficial immediate effect on neck disability index. However, the treatment effects of JG demonstrated in the trials were not large, and the safety of JG was unproven. Finally the evidence level was evaluated to be low. Conclusions. Our results indicated that JG showed some potential benefits for CR. Nevertheless, treatment effects are uncertain due to both the methodological concerns and the very modest reported improvements.
authors.affiliation: Department of Spine, Wangjing Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Huajiadi Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100102, China.
authors.forename: Liguo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Spine, Wangjing Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Huajiadi Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100102, China.
authors.forename: Jinghua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Spine, Wangjing Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Huajiadi Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100102, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Spine, Wangjing Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Huajiadi Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100102, China.
authors.forename: Minshan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, No. 5 Haiyuncang Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100700, China.
authors.forename: Jinyu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of General Orthopedics, Wangjing Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Huajiadi Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100102, China.
authors.forename: Shangquan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Scientific Research, Wangjing Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Huajiadi Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100102, China.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wei