Korean medicine for Hwa-byung: a systematic and meta-analysis

[摘要] To assess the effectiveness of Korean medicine as complementary therapy for Hwa-byung from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Five electronic databases, including English and Korean, were systematically searched up until August 2015. All RCTs involving Korean medicine in combination with conventional therapy for Hwa-byung were included. Five RCTs involving 323 Hwa-byung patients were systematically reviewed. Among them three studies of 139 patients reported a significant improvement in STAXI-E-in and BDI than control group in the treatment group while no significant improvement in STAXI-S, STAXI-T, STAXI-E-con and STAXI-E-out. The four studies of 189 patients reported a significant improvement in STAI in the treatment group. The results of the included studies suggest that Korean medicine is efficacious for Hwa-byung patients in some specific scale. More research and well-designed, rigorous, and large clinical trials are necessary to address these issues.

[学科分类] 药学

[关键词] Randomized controlled trials