Abstract
Qijiaoshengbai capsule (QJSBC) is a type of proprietary Chinese medicine, which is an effective treatment for leukopenia in clinical practice. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of QJSBC in improving specific clinical indicators, in patients with leukopenia of various origins. A total of seven electronic databases were searched, up until an end date of April 30, 2021, and a selection of clinical indicators was noted. The primary indicators of concern were related to blood: white blood cells (WBC). Secondary indicators were hemoglobin (Hb), platelets (PLT), neutrophils (NEU), bone marrow suppression rate (BMSR), and effective rate (ER). The methodological quality of the included trials was analyzed using a risk of bias assessment, as per the Cochrane Manual. The meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4. Results. Twenty-four randomized controlled trials involving a total of 2,692 participants were included in this review. We found that QJSBC had a positive effect on increasing WBC, HB, PLT, and NEU and improving BMSR and ER. Conclusion. When compared with conventional chemotherapy (CC), conventional radiotherapy (CR), combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy (CC + CR), or conventional treatment (CT), the use of QJSBC combined therapy can effectively improve the clinical outcome for patients with leukopenia. However, a larger sample size and a more standardized, high-quality study are required to validate these results.
Highlights
Leukopenia is a common blood disease with an incidence of 12.4% [1], in which the peripheral blood leukocyte count is less than 4 × 109/L [2]
Severe bone marrow suppression (BMS) caused by chemotherapeutic drugs is the main reason that cancer patients are not able to continue chemotherapy, as it seriously affects the efficacy of treatment, prolongs the length of hospital stays, increases the cost to patients, and in some cases can even be fatal [8]
Search Strategy. e systematic review and metaanalysis was based on the Preferred Reported Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement [18]. e following seven databases were searched from their inception up until April 30, 2021: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database, Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, the VIP information resource integration service platform, and China Biology Medicine Disc (Sino Med). e keywords used to search for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were “qijiaoshengbai” OR “qi-jiao-sheng-bai” OR “qijiaoshengbaijiaonang” OR “qijiaoshengbai capsule,” “leukopenia” OR “hypoleucocytosis” OR “hypolekocytosis” OR “marrow suppression” OR “bone marrow suppression” OR “bone marrow suppression rate,” and “clinical trial” OR “randomized controlled trial.”
Summary
Leukopenia is a common blood disease with an incidence of 12.4% [1], in which the peripheral blood leukocyte count is less than 4 × 109/L [2]. Severe bone marrow suppression (BMS) caused by chemotherapeutic drugs is the main reason that cancer patients are not able to continue chemotherapy, as it seriously affects the efficacy of treatment, prolongs the length of hospital stays, increases the cost to patients, and in some cases can even be fatal [8]. A possible reason for this may be that leukopenia is related to a change of pharmacokinetics in this age group; it should be noted that this is consistent with the age distribution of cancer patients in China (showing a peak between 45 and 74 years of age). The high price of this drug creates a heavy economic burden on patients, and with common side effects such as skeletal muscle pain, low fever, and increased tumor risk, it is not optimal [11]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
