Abstract
Background Runzao Zhiyang capsule (RZC), an oral Chinese herbal medicine, has been widely used for chronic eczema in China for many years. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of RZC as an add-on therapy to conventional treatment for chronic eczema. Methods Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the efficacy and safety of RZC as an add-on therapy for chronic eczema were retrieved from eight literature databases from their inception to 31 August, 2020, including CNKI, WanFang, VIP, Sinomed, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Embase. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess the methodological quality of the included studies. The data were analyzed by RevMan5.3 software. Results A total of 18 RCTs involving 1896 patients with chronic eczema were included. Compared with no oral treatment, RZC was superior on the total efficacy rate (TER) (RR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.23 to 1.72, P < 0.0001), Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) (MD = −0.73, 95% CI: −0.90 to −0.56, P < 0.00001), and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pruritus (MD = −2.76, 95%CI: −4.53 to −0.99, P=0.002). Similar results were also seen in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Compared with the antihistamine (AH) group, TER in the RZC combined with AH group was significantly higher (RR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.21 to 1.43, P < 0.00001), and the EASI score (MD = −0.29, 95% CI: −0.38 to −0.20, P < 0.001), the VAS score (MD = −0.19, 95% CI: −0.23 to −0.15, P < 0.00001), and the level of serum total IgE (MD = −9.83 ng/ml, 95% CI: −11.66 to −8.00 ng/ml, P < 0.00001) decreased more significantly in the RZC combined with AH group. In terms of safety, mild gastrointestinal diseases occurred more frequently in the RZC group, and no serious adverse effect was reported. Conclusions RZC as an add-on therapy to conventional treatment shows good effects on chronic eczema, and there is no severe side effect from short-term use of RZC. However, due to suboptimal quality of the included studies, more large-sample and high-quality RCTs are needed to improve the evidence quality.
Highlights
Eczema, known as “atopic dermatitis” or “neurodermatitis” in many countries, is a common skin disease characterized by a wide spectrum of skin lesions and pruritus [1, 2]
Many randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on Runzao Zhiyang capsule (RZC) as an add-on treatment for chronic eczema have been conducted, there is no systematic review and meta-analysis to integrate these Randomized controlled trials (RCTs). erefore, this study aims to systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of RZC as an addon therapy to conventional treatment for the treatment of chronic eczema
A total of 415 studies were identified from eight literature databases, of which 277 duplicates were excluded. 92 studies were excluded based on the titles and abstracts
Summary
Known as “atopic dermatitis” or “neurodermatitis” in many countries, is a common skin disease characterized by a wide spectrum of skin lesions and pruritus [1, 2]. It affects 15% to 20% of children and 1% to 3% of adults around the world [3]. Is study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of RZC as an add-on therapy to conventional treatment for chronic eczema. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the efficacy and safety of RZC as an add-on therapy for chronic eczema were retrieved from eight literature databases from their inception to 31 August, 2020, including CNKI, WanFang, VIP, Sinomed, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Embase. Due to suboptimal quality of the included studies, more large-sample and high-quality RCTs are needed to improve the evidence quality
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