The Effect and Safety of Xuefu Zhuoyue Prescription for Coronary Heart Disease: An Overview of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

BACKGROUND: In China, the traditional Chinese medicine compound Xuefu Zhuoyue prescription (XFZY) has been widely used in the therapy of coronary heart disease (CHD). Currently, several systematic reviews (SRs)/meta-analyses (MAs) of XFZY for the treatment of CHD have been published. This overview aims to evaluate the existing SRs/MAs and provide a scientific basis for evaluating the efficacy and safety of XFZY for the therapy of CHD. METHODS: The SRs/MAs of XFZY for the treatment of CHD were obtained from 7 electronic databases with the search date set at March 7, 2022. Two researchers independently assessed the methodological quality, reporting quality, and evidence quality of the included SRs/MAs using the following tools: the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR-2), the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 (PRISMA 2020), and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system. RESULTS: A total of 11 SRs/MAs were included in this overview. All SRs/MAs assessed by means of AMSTAR-2 had more than one critical defect, so all SRs/MAs were rated low. Regarding the assessment of reporting quality, the results of PRISMA 2020 showed that none of the SRs/MAs were fully reported. In addition, the results of the GRADE assessment of the quality of evidence indicated that only one outcome was rated as high quality across all SRs/MAs. CONCLUSION: Current evidence suggests that XFZY is effective and safe for the management of patients with CHD. However, the high risk of bias of the original clinical studies and the low quality of the SRs/MAs reduced the reliability of the results.