Efficacy and safety of yinqiao powder combined with western medicine in the treatment of pneumonia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Yihua Fan, Wei Liu, Renhong Wan and 4 others
PMID 33360842WHAT IT FOUND
Adding oral Yinqiao powder to varied Western medicine regimens improved overall effectiveness in pneumonia, but the evidence was low quality.
Key findings
01In 14 trials involving 1585 patients, overall effectiveness was higher when oral Yinqiao powder was added to Western medicine than with Western medicine alone (RR 1.21, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.27; GRADE summary 733/797 effective vs 579/788 effective).
02Bacterial clearance was higher with the combination in 3 trials involving 290 patients (RR 1.13, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.22; GRADE summary 141/146 cleared vs 123/144 cleared).
03Adverse reaction rates were lower with the combination in 7 trials involving 909 patients (RR 0.54, 95% CI 0.38 to 0.76, P = 0.0005; GRADE summary 37/457 vs 69/452), but this outcome was rated very low quality.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only two included trials reported correct random sequence generation, and only one reported double-blinding. Most trials did not report blinding, and the GRADE assessment noted no hidden description of assignment. The funnel plot was asymmetric and Egger and Begg tests showed publication bias. GRADE rated the primary total effective rate low quality and bacterial clearance and adverse reactions very low quality. All included studies were from China, so the results may not apply outside that setting. The Yinqiao powder prescriptions varied in composition and dosage across trials. The primary outcome was a composite total efficiency measure defined by the included studies' effectiveness categories.
Declared interests
The authors declared no competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that Yinqiao powder alone treats pneumonia. The trials added oral Yinqiao powder to Western medicine regimens, and the primary evidence was low quality with publication bias.