Abstract
BackgroundThe combination of a Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) bath and narrowband ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) improved the efficacy of NB-UVB treatment of psoriasis vulgaris, but bath therapy is inconvenient. Oral CHM plus NB-UVB has been tested in clinical practice. This study aims to evaluate whether adding oral CHM could be beneficial for NB-UVB therapy by a systematic review and meta-analysis.MethodsNine English and Chinese databases were searched from their inception to April 2014. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the combination of orally administered CHM and NB-UVB with that of CHM placebo and NB-UVB or NB-UVB alone for treating psoriasis vulgaris and reporting Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) outcomes were included. A systematic review, meta-analysis, risk of bias assessment and the GRADE assessment were conducted in accordance with Cochrane Collaboration methodology to assess the evidence for efficacy outcome. Data were analyzed in RevMan5.2.ResultsEighteen eligible RCTs (n = 1416) were included for systematic review, and 17 (n = 1342) of them were included in meta-analysis. Risk of bias in terms of blinding was high and so was in publication bias. Quality of evidence was low according the GRADE assessment. PASI-60 or above [risk ratio (RR) = 1.35, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.26–1.45, I2 = 5 %, number needed to treat = 4.27] and PASI-90 or above (RR = 1.71, 95 % CI 1.45–2.01, I2 = 0 %, number needed to treat = 5.92) were higher in the intervention group. The combination treatment conferred a 24 % benefit of PASI-60 or above (83 vs 59 %, RR = 1.35, 95 % CI 1.26–1.45, P < 0.01). The incidence of NB-UVB-induced adverse events was lower in the intervention group (95/464 vs 123/428, RR = 0.66, 95 % CI 0.46–0.96, P < 0.01). Mild gastrointestinal reactions (2.87 %) and liver function impairments (0.68 %) were reported in the intervention group. No serious adverse events were reported.ConclusionThe orally administrated CHM combined with NB-UVB in treating psoriasis vulgaris showed improved efficacy but quality of evidence was low.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13020-015-0060-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
The combination of a Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) bath and narrowband ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) improved the efficacy of NB-UVB treatment of psoriasis vulgaris, but bath therapy is inconvenient
This study aims to evaluate whether oral CHM could provide an added beneficial effect on NB-UVB therapy by a systematic review and meta-analysis
All included studies evaluated oral CHM added to NBUVB vs NB-UVB alone, and six [8, 13, 14, 18, 19, 22, 24] were three-arm trials that included a comparison with oral CHM alone
Summary
The combination of a Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) bath and narrowband ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) improved the efficacy of NB-UVB treatment of psoriasis vulgaris, but bath therapy is inconvenient. Ultraviolet-based therapies including psoralen plus ultraviolet A (PUVA), narrowband ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) and broad-band ultraviolet B (BB-UVB) are effective treatments for psoriasis vulgaris. The combination of a CHM bath and NB-UVB was beneficial in psoriasis vulgaris patients [7], but this approach has limitations in practice because a 30-min bath was required prior to each NB-UVB session. The combination of oral CHM and NB-UVB has been used in clinical practice for treating psoriasis vulgaris [8]. It is still unclear if oral CHM combined with NB-UVB is beneficial for psoriasis vulgaris treatment
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