Yunnan Baiyao Adjuvant Treatment for Patients with Hemoptysis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: Yunnan Baiyao (YNBY) is a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat bleeding. We evaluated the efficacy of YNBY plus conventional pharmaceutical treatment (CPT) versus CPT alone in patients with hemoptysis. METHODS: A total of eight electronic databases were searched. The outcomes in the included studies were effective rate, hemoptysis volume, duration of hemoptysis and hospitalization, number of cases requiring endotracheal intubation, and adverse events (AEs). The studies were used to calculate risk ratios (RRs) or mean differences (MDs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Risk of bias for included trials was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. RESULTS: Thirteen RCTs were analyzed consisting of a total of 1379 patients. Treatment with YNBY + CPT had a greater effective rate than CPT alone (RR: 1.18; 95% CI: 1.13 to 1.23; P < 0.001; I(2) = 0%), a lower hemoptysis volume (MD: −107.37; 95% CI: −121.69 to −93.06; P < 0.001; I(2) = 0%), a shorter duration of hemoptysis (MD: −2.70; 95% CI: −2.96 to 2.43; P < 0.001; I(2) = 0%) and hospitalization (MD: −2.38; 95% CI: −2.93 to −1.83; P < 0.001; I(2) = 9%), and a reduction in the incidence of AEs (RR: 0.34; 95% CI: 0.23 to 0.51; P < 0.001; I(2) = 0%). YNBY + CPT treatment provided no significant difference in reducing the number of cases requiring endotracheal intubation compared to CPT alone (RR: 0.49; 95% CI: 0.15 to 1.60; P=0.24; I(2) = 0%). CONCLUSION: YNBY plus CPT showed better efficacy than CPT for patients with hemoptysis. Our study provides medical evidence for the efficacy and safety of YNBY for hemoptysis.