title: A traditional herbal medication, Maekmoondong-tang, for cough: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Maekmoondong-tang (MMDT) is a traditional herbal medication widely used to improve cough in Korea, Japan, and China. It is composed of six herbs (Ophiopogonis Tuber, Pinelliae Tuber, Glycyrrhizae Radix, Zizyphi Fructus, Ginseng Radix, and Oryzae Semen).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study is aimed to systematically review the relevant randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to determine the effectiveness and safety of MMDT for cough.
  
  
  METHODS
  Electronic and hand-searching of 7 databases (Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, OASIS, RISS, CNKI and CiNii) was systematically conducted up to February 2015 for RCTs testing MMDT in patients with cough. The primary outcome was cough symptom improvement using cough diary, visual analog scale, or response rate. Risk of bias of the included trials was evaluated with the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool. The dichotomous data were pooled to obtain a risk ratio (RR) of cough persisting after treatment, with 95% confidence intervals (CI).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nine RCTs involving 2453 participants were included. The methodological quality was largely poor for a majority of the studies. MMDT reduced the severity of cough by 74% compared with the conventional antitussive medications in various conditions (n=1145; RR of cough persisting after treatment=0.26; 95% CI, 0.19-0.34, I(2)=0%). The addition of MMDT to conventional medication in patients with postinfectious cough significantly alleviated symptoms up to day 5 but the effect was not maintained one week afterwards. For other diseases/conditions including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer surgery, and asthma, the evidence is inconsistent for MMDT/mMMDT for cough. Adverse events appear to be rare but the reporting was poor.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The current evidence from our systematic review and meta-analysis on MMDT for cough is inconclusive and we propose that rigorously designed, placebo-controlled trials of MMDT should be conducted to establish its place in management of cough.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Korean Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, 23 Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 130-872, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: myhappy78@naver.com.
authors.forename: Kwan-Il
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, 23 Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 130-872, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: ssw.kmd@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Seungwon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: lnr1128@naver.com.
authors.forename: Nara
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Division of Allergy, Immune and Respiratory System, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, 23 Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 130-872, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: franchisjun@naver.com.
authors.forename: Beom-Joon
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, 23 Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 130-872, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: ssljh@daum.net.
authors.forename: Junhee
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Acupuncture & Meridian Science Research Centre, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, 26 Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: erc633@khu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Hyangsook
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000996:Antitussive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003371:Cough / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000379:methods; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
chemical_list: D000996:Antitussive Agents; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; C119571:maimendongtang
keywords: Bakumondo-to (TJ-29); Cough; Herbal medicine; Maekmoondong-tang; Mai-men-dong-tang; Systematic review