Traditional Chinese medicine as a tool for improving China’s image: The role of socio-political factors

Expert symposium on severe acute hepatitis of unknown cause in children, a paradigm of exchanges and sharing between Chinese and Western medicine professionals.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and traditional Mongolian medicine (TMM) systems treat hypertension in community health institutions within China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region. This paper aims to investigate the use and influence of TCM and TMM among hypertensive older Chinese adults receiving treatment at these community health institutions. A cross-sectional survey method was used in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. A total of 1,499 completed questionnaires were collected from eight community health service centers in four municipal districts of Hohhot between May and June 2022. In all, 662 (44.2%) respondents had used community hypertension treatment services in the last year. Of the 662 respondents, 213 (32.2%) used TCM hypertension treatment services, and 64 (9.7%) used TMM treatment services less frequently and at a lower cost. Chinese herbal medicine (63.5%) and Mongolian herbal medicine (74%) were used more than other treatments. Cognition, attitude, and service provision were the main factors that affected service utilization. Ethnicity also had an impact on TMM’s service utilization. Older Chinese adults with hypertension did not fully utilize the TCM and TMM services provided. Further promotion and expansion of traditional medicine are needed from relevant government and health institutions.

See related article, pages 1973–1979. The lack of effective and widely applicable pharmacological treatments for ischemic stroke patients may explain a growing interest in traditional medicines, for which extensive observational and anecdotal experience has accumulated over the past thousand years. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines traditional medicine as “health practices, approaches, knowledge and beliefs incorporating plant, animal and mineral based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques and exercises, applied singularly or in combination to treat, diagnose and prevent illnesses or maintain well-being”.1 Unlike Western medicine, which focuses on disease, traditional medicine takes the approach that the body provides external clues to an internal imbalance that can be addressed by interventions such as herbs and acupuncture (holistic treatment approach).2 According to a 2003 WHO report,1 traditional medicine is very popular in all developing countries, and its use is rapidly increasing in industrialized countries. For example, traditional herbal preparations account for 30% to 50% of the total medicinal consumption in China. In Europe, North America and other industrialized regions, over 50% of the population have used traditional medicine at least once. The global market for herbal medicines currently stands at over US $60 billion annually and is growing steadily.1 In recent years, several reviews have been published on the effect and potential benefits of traditional Eastern medicine in stroke.3–7 It has been suggested that some herbal medicines, or their products, may improve microcirculation in the brain,4,8 protect against ischemic reperfusion injury,8,9 possess neuroprotective properties3,4 and inhibit apoptosis,10 thus justifying their use in ischemic stroke patients. However, unlike industrially manufactured pharmacological drugs used in Western medicine, the active (potent) components of herbal medicines often have not been specified and measured precisely, although there have been recent attempts to regulate dosages and use of …

The globalisation of Chinese medicine

Exploring the influence of Traditional Chinese Medicine on self-care among Chinese cancer patients

Objective This study aimed to assess the clinical efficacy and safety of the treatment of refractory nephrotic syndrome with integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine. Methods The study was a prospective, randomized, double-blind, 2∶1 basic-control, multi-center clinical trial, with 120 patients recruited from 7 hospitals in China. The test group was administered with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) particles on the base of prednisone and cyclophosphamide treatment for 3 months, while the control group was administered with placebo using the same method. The 24-hour urinary protein, serum albumin, serum creatinine, TCM syndrome score and adverse reactions were monitored timely. SPSS 20.0 software was used for data analysis. Results At 3 months, the total effective rate was 89.39% and 63.64% for the test and the control, respectively, the difference of which was of statistical significance (χ2=7.824, P=0.005). The total effective rate of TCM syndromes was 93.94% and 72.73% for the test and the control, respectively, the difference of which was also of statistical significance (χ2=6.918, P=0.009). The incidence of Cushing′s syndrome, digestive tract reactions, and infections in the test group were lower than in the control group, the difference of which was of statistical significance (χ2=7.666, P=0.006; χ2=5.088, P=0.024; χ2=5.227, P=0.022). Conclusion Treatment with integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine effectively improved the clinical efficacy of refractory nephrotic syndrome, improved the clinical symptoms, and reduced the side effects of immunosuppressive agents. Key words: Treatment with integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine; Refractory nephrotic syndrom; Clinical trial

Background and objectives: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common arthritis disease and there are various services nowadays. People can choose traditional Chinese medicine besides wstern medicine, which results in health services utilization of plural care phenomena. The purposes of this study were to explore health services utilization of western and traditional Chinese medicine by osteoarthritis patients under the National Health Insurance and its related factors. Method: The source of the data came from claims data of the first to fourth sets of sampled registry of beneficiaries of National Health Insurance of 2004 and 2005. ICD-9-CM with initial three codes as 715 were selected from the panel database. Cases were traced for one year after the first visit in the claims file. A total of 3,841 patients were identified and divided into three groups, namely western medicine care group, Chinese medicine care group, and Chinese and western medicine care group. There were 3,714 patients in western medicine care group, 67 in Chinese medicine care group, and 60 in Chinese and western medicine care group. Data were analyzed by using student’s t test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Stepwise regression analysis was used to explore health services utilization of western and traditional Chinese medicine and its related factors. Result: The proportion of patients using western medicine ambulatory care and emergency, Chinese medicine ambulatory care, Chinese and Western medicine ambulatory care and emergency were 96.69%, 1.74%, and 1.56%, respectively. In terms of patient characteristics, patients tended to be female, aged 40-49, 50-59 and 60-69 years old, with comobidity or complications of Spondylosis and allied disorders and Other disorders of soft tissues, other and unspecified disorders of back. For western medicine ambulatory care and emergency, the majority of patients received care from private hospitals, clinics, Taipei Branch. In accordance with Chinese medicine ambulatory care, people received care from public, clinics, Taipei Branch were in the majority. In personal visit of Chinese and Western medicine care, people received care from non-profit proprietary hospitals, clinics, Taipei Branch were in the majority. In terms of health services utilization patterns, the average accumulative medical expenses, accumulative days of prescription, accumulative number of visit for western medicine ambulatory care, were 6,965.41 points per person, 6.33 times, 80.55 days； for Chinese medicine ambulatory 3,883.51 points per person, 4.93 times, 48.1 days； and for Chinese and Western medicine ambulatory care 8,132.72 points per person, 8.38 times, 95.13 days. Multiple regression results indicate that osteoarthritis personal visit, ambulatory and emergency care accumulative expenses per patient visit for Western medicine, days of prescription, accumulative visit times were significantly related to gender, age, comobidities and complication, whether or not have to pay copayment. The accumulative expenses of Chinese medicine visits, days of prescription were significantly related to comobidities and complication, and days of prescription. Accumulative visit times were related to visiting place; ambulatory and emergency care. Accumulative expenses per patient visit for Chinese and Western medicine was significantly related to sex, visiting place. Accumulative visit times and days of prescription were significantly related to ownership of provider. Patients medical treatment models of Western medicine care, Chinese medicine care and Chinese/Western medicine care were significantly related to the accumulative medical expenses and accumulative visit times. Conclusion: This study found that gender, age, copayment status, comobiditries/complication, ownership of provider, contracted category and visiting place of osteoarthritis patients were significantly related to the medical utilization of Western medicine care, Chinese medicine care and Chinese/Western medicine care.

WHO International Standard Terminologies on Traditional Chinese Medicine: Use in Context, Creatively

Objective To explore the curative effect of combination of traditional Chinese and western medicine in the treatment of senile vasovagal syncope. Methods Eighty one elderly patients with vasovagal syncope outpatients and inpatients who were admitted from January 2016 to September 2017 in Xixi Hospital of Hangzhou were included. Among them, 38 were Western medicine group (metoprolol sustained-release tablets + tilt training), and 43 were combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine group (radix bupleuri liver scattered flavored party + Metoprolol sustained-release tablets + tilt training). Heart rate, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), depression and anxiety scores were observed before and after treatment in both groups, as well as tilt test after treatment and clinical efficacy. The patients were followed up by telephone for half a year after treatment and the recurrence was recorded. Results Heart rate, SBP, DBP and depression anxiety score were significantly reduced in both Western medicine group and combination of traditional Chinese and western medicine group after treatment, and the differences were statistically significant (t=3.55, 18.68, 13.57, 18.68, 7.74, 19.83, 10.08, 19.83; P<0.05 or P<0.01). Heart rate, SBP, DBP and depression anxiety scores of patients after treatment in the combination of traditional Chinese and western medicine group were significantly lower than those in the western medicine group, with statistically significant differences (t=4.17, 1.77, 2.89, 6.79; all P<0.05).There were 19 effective cases in the western medicine group (76.32%, 10 cases cured, 19 cases effective), and 36 effective cases in the combination of traditional Chinese and western medicine group (93.02%, 17 cases cured, 19 cases effective). The difference was statistically significant (χ2=4.462, P<0.05). Twenty-nine patients with positive tilt test and 6 patients with relapse within 6 months after treatment were in Western medicine group. Twenty-two cases with positive tilt test and 1 case with recurrence within six months after treatment were in combination of traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine group. The differences were statistically significant (χ2=2.147, 3.083; P<0.05). Conclusion Metoprolol sustained-release tablets + tilt training are effective in the treatment of senile vasovagal syncope. Western medicine combined radix bupleuri liver flavored party is better, with improved the patient's heart rate, blood pressure levels and depression anxiety symptoms, reducing the patients with recent recurrent syncope. Key words: Chaihu liver dispersing flavor side; Metopolol sustained-release tablet; Aged; Tilt-table test; Syncope, vasovagal

Clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of atopic dermatitis with integrative traditional Chinese and Western medicine.

Objective System evaluation about the clinical efficacyof combining traditional Chinese and western medicine for epidemic keratoconjunctivitispublished at home and abroad by the method of Meta analysis, and provide reference for clinicaltreatment of EKC. Methods Through the collection of PubMed, MEDLINE, China retrieval CNKI, Wanfang database, VIP database and China biomedical literature database of Chinese medicine combined with western medicine in the treatment of EKC related Chinese and English literature. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the literature was extracted, and the data of the study were extracted. The combination of Chinese medicine and Western medicine was used as the treatment group, and Western medicine treatment as the control group. According to the requirement of the Meta analysis to evaluate the quality of the literature retrieved, and use the RevMan5.3 for researching according to the Meta analysis, evaluation of the clinical curative effect of EKC. The revised Jadad quality scoring method was used to evaluate the included literature. The chi square test was used to test the heterogeneity of the study. If the P>0.05 indicated the homogeneity was better, the fixed effect model was used; otherwise, the random effect model was used to calculate the combined effect. The total effective rate was expressed by relative risk (OR) and 95% confidence interval. Results 7 trials including 520 patients were included. There were 553 eyes in the treatment group and 469 eyes in the control group. 7 articles are the combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine treatment group and the control group, the total effective rate of treating EKC, after heterogeneity test, the difference was statistically significant (I2=15%, P>0.05), suggesting good homogeneity, so we use the fixed effect model of Meta analysis. The results showed that the difference between the two groups was statistically significant(OR=9.00, 95% confidence interval: 4.53~17.89, Z=6.27, P<0.05). It shows that the combination of traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine is better than western medicine in the treatment of traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine. Conclusion The overall effective rate of combining traditional Chinese and western medicine for EKC is significantly superior to control group. Key words: Epidemic keratoconjunctivitis; Combination of Chinese traditional and Western medicine; Meta-analysis

: In China, allergic rhinitis patients are looking not only for western therapy in Chinese traditional medicine but also for treatment in Western and Chinese mixed medicine. Several studies have compared traditional Chinese medicine, Western and Western combined. Such three forms of treatment were not analyzed simultaneously. Aim: The research examines the differences between populations and medical applications of allergic rhinitis patients who received all three treatments to determine the use of different drugs. Methods: The inventory for patients diagnosed with allergic rhinitis (International Disease Classification). The Chi-square test and Tukey test were performed for the region of interest to check the disparity between these three treatments (a significant difference still exists). Results: The interview rate for women with allergic rhinitis is higher than for men regardless of whether it is treatment with traditional Chinese medicine, Western or combined traditional Chinese and Western medicine. Persons 0-19 years of age was first in the proportion of allergic rhinitis diagnosis and care. Traditional Chinese medicine includes medical measures with maximum hours per person, the daily cost per hour of medicines and minimum overall hourly expenditure. Western medicine, by comparison, costs the lowest daily drug per hour, and the highest total drug costs per hour per person. Between traditional Chinese and western medicine, the total cost per capita of integrated traditional Chinese and Western Medicine as well as drug costs per capita and the total cost per capita. Conclusion: Although only 6.82% of allergic rhinitis patients opt for combined traditional Chinese medicines and western medicine, their rate of receipt is higher each year. Moreover, mixed medications are used more frequently compared to single-component medicines

Hypertension during pregnancy (HDP) is one of the common and serious complications during pregnancy. Its etiology involves placental dysfunction, vascular endothelial injury, immune disorder and oxidative stress, and its pathogenesis is complex. Western medicine believes that the treatment of HDP is mainly based on drug intervention, but it has limitations and side effects. Traditional Chinese medicine, on the basis of syndrome differentiation and treatment, combines traditional Chinese medicine for internal and external use, and combines acupuncture, moxibustion and other methods to effectively improve the circulation of qi and blood and the function of internal organs. The combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine fully reflects the respective therapeutic advantages of traditional Chinese and Western medicine, and has shown significant efficacy in clinical practice. At the same time, it can effectively reduce the side effects of Western medicine treatment and improve maternal and infant safety. Through further analysis of experimental studies on the combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine for the treatment of hypertension during pregnancy, the mechanism of action of Chinese medicine monomers and compounds in regulating oxidative stress, inflammatory factors and vascular function is revealed, which provides a scientific basis for the treatment of HDP by combining traditional Chinese and Western medicine. However, the integrated Chinese and Western medicine treatment model still faces challenges in the individualized treatment of HDP. In the future, multi-center large-sample clinical studies are still needed to further verify its efficacy and safety, so as to optimize the diagnosis and treatment plan and promote the widespread application of integrated Chinese and Western medicine treatment, and provide more comprehensive and effective health protection for HDP patients.

The issue of sports injury and rehabilitation has been a hot topic in competitive sports. With the continuous development of sports dance sports requirements and competition system, the competition is becoming increasingly fierce and the special technical requirements are more stringent; it can easily cause eye damage. Traditional Chinese medicine clinics often use Chinese medicine internal treatment, external Chinese medicine, acupuncture, massage, cupping, scraping, exercise, and other treatment methods to treat waist injuries, which have the characteristics of significant curative effect, small side effects, and being not easy to relapse. It plays an important role in the recovery and treatment of athletes, allowing athletes to better repair, reduce physical discomfort, and achieve better results. The increase in training difficulty and intensity leads to more frequent sports injuries, so the recovery of athletes after injury is particularly important. Based on the above background, the purpose of this article was to study the traditional Chinese and Western medical treatment and sports rehabilitation for waist injuries of sports dance athletes. This article analyzes the technical problems existing in the training process of sports dance athletes from the perspective of sports training, and analyzes the nature of sports dance athletes' waist injuries and the causes of injuries. In this article, 45 sports dance athletes were randomly divided into three groups: traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, and Western medicine. Patients treated with the optimized combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine were regarded as the traditional Chinese and Western medicine group. The clinical symptoms, limb circumference, waist function rehabilitation, and overall efficacy of the three groups were observed. At the same time, changes in physical examination indicators before and after treatment were observed to evaluate the safety of the treatment. The experimental results showed that the total effective rate of the Chinese and Western medicine group was 95%, the total effective rate of the Chinese medicine group was 84%, and the total effective rate of the Western medicine group was 90%. The symptoms and waist injuries of the three groups were improved to varying degrees. The results of this experiment provide a reference for protecting the physical health and scientific training of athletes, and also provide training ideas and methods for coaches and scientific and medical personnel.

Association between Alopecia Areata and Atopic Dermatitis: Current Evidence.