Outcomes of Chinese herb medicine for the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Several studies have suggested that Chinese herb medicine (CHM) in combination with chemotherapy has efficacy in the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). The purpose of this meta-analysis was to assess the efficacy of CHM as a concomitant therapy for MDR-TB. Six databases were searched up to October 2014. Controlled trials comparing CHM combined with chemotherapy (treatment group) with chemotherapy alone (control group) for the treatment of MDR-TB were analyzed. Twenty studies, comprising 1823 patients across China, were included in this review. The meta-analysis showed CHM combined with chemotherapy was associated with a superiority in treatment success (odds ratio [OR], 1.33; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.15-1.54; P<0.001), and radiological improvement (OR, 1.32; 95% CI: 1.14-1.52; P<0.001). Patients who received CHM combined with chemotherapy were associated with a similar likely to relapse (OR, 0.88; 95% CI: 0.62-1.25, P=0.478). CHM combination with chemotherapy appeared to be associated with a low incidence of adverse effects for MDT-TB treatment. According to the pooled results and the poor quality of the included trials, it might be uncertainty that there was a superiority of CHM combined with chemotherapy for treating MDR-TB. More rigorous controlled trials are required to substantiate or refute these early findings.
Clinic and Research Center of Tuberculosis, Shanghai Key Lab of Tuberculosis, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200433, China.
Rui-Hua
RH
Jiang
Department of Pharmacy, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, China. Electronic address: xuhongbin@tongji.edu.cn.
Hong-Bin
HB
Xu
Department of Pharmacy, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, China.
Jun
J
Fu
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D018088:Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant / Q000188:drug therapy*; D055815:Young Adult
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal
Chinese herb medicine; Multidrug-resistant; Tuberculosis