Authors
Ying-Tian Yang, Xin-Zheng Hou, Shi-Han Wang
Published in
Zhongguo Zhong yao za zhi = Zhongguo zhongyao zazhi = China journal of Chinese materia medica. Volume 51. Issue 17. Pages 5090-5102.
Abstract
This study aims to systematically map and visualize the landscape of clinical research evidence on Chinese patent medicines for treating carotid atherosclerosis(CAS), evaluating the current status, strengths, and limitations of research in this field to provide guidance for future studies. A systematic search was conducted across eight Chinese and English databases from their inception to November 14, 2025. The results were presented using a combination of figures, tables, and textual descriptions. A total of 343 publications were included, comprising 331 randomized controlled trials( RCTs), 8 systematic reviews/Meta-analyses, 1 network Meta-analysis, and 3 expert consensus statements. The publication trends showed an initial rise followed by a decline. The studies involved 68 distinct Chinese patent medicines, with Tongxinluo Capsules, Naoxintong Capsules, and Ginkgo biloba preparations being the most widely used. Most studies had treatment durations of 12 to 24 weeks and sample sizes ranging from 51 to 100 cases. The outcome measures encompassed 19 domains, including plaque parameters, lipid metabolism, safety evaluation, inflammatory factors, and clinical efficacy. The identified limitations included a lack of clear distinction between primary and secondary outcomes, low standardization of outcome measures, insufficient reflection of TCM advantages, absence of clinical endpoints and quality of life assessments, and a lack of health economics indicators. In terms of methodological quality assessment, the RCT exhibited significant deficiencies in randomization, allocation concealment, blinding implementation, and missing data processing, indicating a high risk of bias. The quality of systematic reviews/Meta-analyses was generally low, while expert consensus statements lacked rigor and applicability in their development. Future efforts should focus on conducting multicenter, large-sample, high-quality clinical trials, refining the standardization of TCM syndrome patterns, establishing core outcome indicator sets, and enhancing the overall research quality. This will fully realize the potential of Chinese patent medicines in treating CAS.
PMID:
42869815
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 14 Oct 2026.
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