Yiqi Yangyin Huoxue Method in Treating IdiopathicPulmonary Fibrosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

OBJECTIVE: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a common respiratory disease that can lead to respiratory failure in severe condition. Despite notable advances in its treatment, some patients show poor effect when treated with conventional western medicine (CWM). Traditional Chinese medicine with the Yiqi Yangyin Huoxue method (YQYYHXM) has been reported to be positive for IPF. In order to explore the effectiveness and safety of YQYYHXM in the treatment of IPF, we performed this meta-analysis. METHOD: We searched six databases including Embase, Cochrane, PubMed, CNKI, Wan Fang, and VIP database from their inception to June 1, 2019, and then selected eight studies. Two reviewers independently conducted methodological evaluation and data analysis by the software RevMan 5.3.3 and Stata 12.0. RESULTS: The meta-analysis revealed that when YQYYHXM was adopted in combination with CWM, cough, chest pain, and shortness of breath of IPF patients improved significantly. After treatment with YQYYHXM combined with CWM, the SGRQ of IPF patients substantially enhanced. YQYYHXM also has positive effect on 6MWD and TLC, but the improvement on FVC was not obvious. In addition, YQYYHXM has no significance in improving PaO(2). All the adverse events were reported in the control group. CONCLUSION: YQYYHXM is more effective and safe as adjunctive treatment for patients with IPF. However, in the future, long-term, large-scale, and high-quality trials will be required to provide more convincing evidence of YQYYHXM due to some limitations of this review.