Maekmoondong-tang in treatment of postoperative cough in patients with lung cancer: Study protocol for a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial

BACKGROUND: Cough is a common symptom that occurs in 25% of patients after lung cancer surgery. It might last a long time and degrade the quality of life of patients. Maekmoondong-tang (Bakumondo-to in Japanese or Mai-Men-Dong-Tang in Chinese) is a herbal medicine which has been widely used for respiratory diseases with cough in Korea, China, and Japan. AIMS: The aim of the present study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Maekmoondong-tang for postoperative cough in patient with lung cancer. METHODS/DESIGN: This study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial of Maekmoondong-tang. A total of 96 participants will be enrolled and allocated to 2 parallel groups: the Maekmoondong-tang group and the placebo group from 5 university hospitals. The participants will be administered either Maekmoondong-tang or a placebo 3 times a day for 4 weeks. The primary outcome measurement is the change in the Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ) score. The secondary outcome measurements are the changes in the cough visual analog scale and Yin Deficiency Scale. The participants will visit 4 times in total for 4 weeks of trial period. DISCUSSION: The present study will be the first multicener study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Maekmoondong-tang for postoperative cough in patient with lung cancer surgery. The results of this study will provide a new treatment for cough using herbal medicine and will be a reference for planning clinical trial of herbal medicine in patient with cough.