Clinical efficacy of acetylcysteine combined with tetrandrine tablets in the treatment of silicosis and the effect on serum IL-6 and TNF-α

Clinical efficacy of acetylcysteine combined with tetrandrine tablets in the treatment of silicosis and the effect on serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in patients with silicosis was investigated. One hundred and ninety-six patients with silicosis admitted to Qingdao Central Hospital, aged 40 to 70 years, were collected by prospective analysis. The patients were divided into two groups according to the different methods of treatment. The 108 patients in the control group received routine treatment, including anti-inflammatory, cough and asthma relief and 88 patients in the observation group were treated with tetrandrine combined with N-acetylcysteine on the basis of routine treatment. The curative effect of the two groups was analyzed by X-ray, and the incidence of adverse reactions was compared between the two groups. There was no significant difference in the effective rate between the two groups (P>0.05). After treatment, respiratory rate (RR) decreased, and forced vital capacity (FVC), and first second forced expiratory volume (FEV1) increased in both groups (P<0.05). RR in the observation group was lower than that in the control group (P<0.05), FVC and FEV1 were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in serum IL-6 and TNF-α levels between the two groups before treatment (P>0.05). After treatment, the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in the two groups decreased (P<0.05), and the IL-6 and TNF-α levels in the observation group after treatment were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). According to the effect of clinical treatment, the patients were re-divided into two groups. In conclusion, tetrandrine combined with acetylcysteine can effectively improve the clinical therapeutic effect of silicosis and alleviate the degree of inflammatory reaction in patients with silicosis. The levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in peripheral blood are valuable for the clinical treatment of silicosis.