Efficacy of integrating Chinese and modern medicine in the treatment of Sjogren’s syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis

• Main Author: Leong, Kye Siong
• Other Authors: Zhao Yan
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2022
• Subjects: Science::Biological sciences
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/161436
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Background: Existing treatment of Sjogren’s syndrome is limited to symptomatic management. We aim to evaluate the efficacy of integrating Chinese and modern medicine to treat Sjogren’s syndrome. Methods: Six electronic databases were systematically searched from January 2011 to June 2021. Risk of bias for the included trials was assessed using the criteria in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and the PEDro scale. Revman 5.4 software was used to conduct the meta-analysis. Results: A total of 28 studies involving 1998 patients were included. Meta-analysis showed that the total efficacy of the integrative treatment group was significantly higher than that of the conventional treatment group [RR=1.33, 95%CI(1.36,1.39), p<0.00001]. In addition, the improvements in tear secretion function [MD=1.48, 95%CI(1.06,1.90), p<0.00001], salivary flow rate [MD=0.46, 95%CI(0.25,0.68), p<0.0001], ESR levels [MD=-5.95, 95%CI(-7.96,-3.94), p<0.0001], CRP levels [MD=-3.45, 95%CI(-4.90,-2.01), p<0.0001], and IgG levels [MD=-2.45, 95%CI(-3.80,-1.27), p<0.001] were better than the control group. No significant difference in the incidence of adverse events could be found between the two groups. Conclusion: Integrating Chinese and modern medicine is beneficial in improving treatment efficacy of Sjogren’s syndrome. However, in view of the limitations of the included studies, more high-quality and large-scale RCTs are needed to further warrant its use. Keywords – Chinese medicine; Integrative medicine; Meta-analysis; Sjogren’s syndrome