title: An Overview of Meta-Analyses of Danhong Injection for Unstable Angina.
abstract: Objective. To systematically collect evidence and evaluate the effects of Danhong injection (DHI) for unstable angina (UA). Methods. A comprehensive search was conducted in seven electronic databases up to January 2015. The methodological and reporting quality of included studies was assessed by using AMSTAR and PRISMA. Result. Five articles were included. The conclusions suggest that DHI plus conventional medicine treatment was effective for UA pectoris treatment, could alleviate symptoms of angina and ameliorate electrocardiograms. Flaws of the original studies and systematic reviews weaken the strength of evidence. Limitations of the methodology quality include performing an incomprehensive literature search, lacking detailed characteristics, ignoring clinical heterogeneity, and not assessing publication bias and other forms of bias. The flaws of reporting systematic reviews included the following: not providing a structured summary, no standardized search strategy. For the pooled findings, researchers took statistical heterogeneity into consideration, but clinical and methodology heterogeneity were ignored. Conclusion. DHI plus conventional medicine treatment generally appears to be effective for UA treatment. However, the evidence is not hard enough due to methodological flaws in original clinical trials and systematic reviews. Furthermore, rigorous designed randomized controlled trials are also needed. The methodology and reporting quality of systematic reviews should be improved.
authors.affiliation: College of Management and Economics, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China ; Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300193, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoxia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Evidence-Based Medicine Center, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300193, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300193, China.
authors.forename: Yanxu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300193, China.
authors.forename: Yuefei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Evidence-Based Medicine Center, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300193, China.
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Evidence-Based Medicine Center, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300193, China.
authors.forename: Shufei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Evidence-Based Medicine Center, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300193, China.
authors.forename: Junhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang