Effectiveness and safety of traditional Chinese medicine in treatment primary Sjögren’s Syndrome patients: A meta-analysis.

Backgroud: primary Sjögren’s Syndrome (pSS) is an autoimmune disease, it can damage the salivary and lacrimal glands, with dry mouth and eye symptoms, which seriously affects people’s normal life. Both modern medicine and Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have certain effects in treating SS. But there are different theories about which treatment is more appropriate. Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of TCM to Western Medicine in the treatment of pSS. Methods: To collected randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of TCM, integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine for the treatment of pSS in Chinese and foreign databases. Results: A total of 13 articles were eventually included with 780 cases. Final results were expressed in odds ratio (OR), mean difference (MD), 95% confidence interval (CI), and overall effect (z). The effective rate was 86.03% in the TCM group and 67.75% in the western medicine group. Results of the effective rate [OR=3.57; 95% CI=2.44－5.23; z=6.56; p＜0.00001]. Results of ESR [MD=-6.90; 95% CI=-10.76－-3.05; z=3.51; p=0.0005＜0.05]; Schirmer’s test [MD=3.39; 95% CI=1.92－4.86; z=4.5; p＜0.00001]; salivary flow [MD=0.62; 95% CI=0.16-1.07; z=2.63; p=0.009＜0.05]; adverse reactions results [OR=0.35; 95% CI=0.17－0.72; z=2.84; p=0.004]. Conclusion: TCM has a remarkable effect on the treatment of pSS. Among them Yiguanjian decoction, Liuwei Dihuang decoction were effective prescription with the highest frequency of application; Rehmanniae Radix (Rehmannia glutinosa Libosch.), Ophiopogonis Radix (Ophiopogon japonicus (L. f.) Ker-Gawl.) were the most frequently used TCM.