Effects of comprehensive therapy based on traditional Chinese medicine patterns on older patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a subgroup analysis from a four-center, randomized, controlled study.

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of comprehensive therapy based on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) patterns on older patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) through a fourcenter, open-label, randomized controlled trial. Patients were divided into the trial group treated using conventional western medicine and Bu-Fei Jian-Pi granules, Bu-Fei Yi-Shen granules, and Yi-Qi Zi-Shen granules based on TCM patterns respectively; and the control group treated using conventional western medicine. A total of 136 patients ≥ 65 years completed the study, with 63 patients comprising the trial group and 73 comprising the control group. After the six-month treatment and the 12-month follow-up period, significant differences were observed between the trial and control groups in the following aspects: frequency of acute exacerbation (P ≤ 0.040), duration of acute exacerbation (P = 0.034), symptoms (P ≤ 0.034), 6-min walking distance (6MWD) (P ≤ 0.039), dyspnea scale (P ≤ 0.036); physical domain (P ≤ 0.019), psychological domain (P ≤ 0.033), social domain (P ≤ 0.020), and environmental domain (P ≤ 0.044) of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire; and daily living ability domain (P ≤ 0.007), social activity domain (P ≤ 0.018), depression symptoms domain (P ≤ 0.025), and anxiety symptoms domain (P ≤ 0.037) of the COPD-QOL. No differences were observed between the trial and control groups with regard to FVC, FEV1, and FEV1%.