Acute asthma is a life-threatening condition and TCMs alone are not adequate to treat the condition. A multicenter, double-blind, and placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted to evaluate three regimens of TCM, including Liu Wei Di Huang Wan (LWDHW), commonly used by TCM doctors to ˇ§normalize the altered reactivityˇ¨ after asthmatic attacks have been brought under control and stable.
There were 334 asthmatic children participated in the study and they were randomized into 3 groups. Group A were divided into groups administered with LWDHW (4.5g/day) (n=32) and placebo (n=34). Group B and C were tested with other different TCM formulas against placeboes.
One of the efficacy measurements was based on severity scores of symptoms. Patents/parents were asked to record the severity of daytime asthma, night-time asthma, morning chest tightness and cough with a 5 point scale (0=none to 4=severe), and the morning and evening peak expiratory flow rates (PEFRs).
During the therapy period, the patients were encouraged to decrease their daily medications as much as possible until the earliest sign of discomfort was experienced. The primary emergency medication was inhaled beta-2 agonists; other kinds of anti-asthmatic medication were used from time to time to control the acute exacerbation and regain the stability of the disease.
The results in Group A (LWDHW) showed more prominent improvement in the symptom scores that those in placebo; the requirement for the use of steroid was significantly less in test group than placebo after 3 months of treatment (p<0.05). Also, the morning and evening PEFRs increased significantly at 1 month of therapy (p<0.05).
The global effectiveness of the TCMs in this study was assessed independently by allergy analysts, TCM doctors and parents at the completion of study. They concluded that 85-90% of the Group A patients responded to LWDHW while 50-55% of the patients responded to placebo, showing that LWDHW did show an anticipated therapeutic effect on asthmatic symptoms.
Reference:
-
Hsieh KH, Chuang CY, Cheng CH, Hsiao WC, Chou CC, Su KC, Wang JY, Yang CH, Liu WJ, Wang JS, Chou CT, Kao ST, Lue KH, Shen JJ, Tsay JJ, Huang MT, Tang RB, Chang BT, Lan JL, Chang CK, Lin JG, Shih TY. Evaluation of efficacy of traditional Chinese medicines in the treatment of childhood bronchial asthma: clinical trial, immunological tests and animal study. Pediatr Allergy Immunol (1996). 7: 130-140.
|
