Efficacy and safety of Jianzhong decoction in treating peptic ulcers: a meta-analysis of 58 randomised controlled trials with 5192 patients

BACKGROUND: Jianzhong decoction is widely used to treat peptic ulcers; however, due to lack of systematic evaluations, its clinical efficacy remains controversial. We performed meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Jianzhong decoction in treating peptic ulcers. METHODS: Studies were systematically retrieved from PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, Chongqing VIP, China Biology Medicine disc (CBMdisc), and references cited in related studies/reviews. Extracted data included the total effective rate, helicobacter pylori eradication rates, recurrence rate, and adverse reaction rate. Fifty-eight randomised controlled trials involving 5192 patients were included in the final analysis. RESULTS: Results showed that Jianzhong decoction therapy was more effective than conventional Western medicine therapy (total effective rate, odds ratio [OR] = 4.29, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.51–5.23, P = 0.000; helicobacter pylori eradication rates, OR =2.10, 95% CI: 1.69–2.61, P = 0.000; recurrence rate, OR =0.23, 95% CI: 0.18–0.29, P = 0.000; and adverse reaction rate, OR =0.20, 95% CI: 0.12–0.33, P = 0.000). CONCLUSIONS: Jianzhong decoction increased the total effective rate and helicobacter pylori eradication rate, and lowered the recurrence and adverse reaction rates. The results of this study can be used as a guide for clinical treatment of peptic ulcers. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12906-017-1723-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.