Abstract Context Guizhi-Shaoyao-Zhimu decoction (GSZD), a famous ancient oriental Chinese prescription, has been widely used for thousands of years to treat ‘arthromyodynia’. Objective The clinical studies of GSZD for the treatment of gout were systematically reviewed to evaluate its clinical efficacy and safety. Methods All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) related to GSZD and gout were collected starting from the database establishment until 29 February 2020, from the Embase, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Knowledge, VIP and other databases. This systematic review and meta-analysis were performed in strict accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) statement, and all analysis of the test was completed using Stata (SE12.0) and Revman (5.3). Results A total of 535 studies were searched, and 13 studies were included in our meta-analysis (n = 1056 participants). Compared with the conventional western medicine treatments, GSZD treatment yielded a significantly increase in the number of clinically effective patients (OR = 3.67, 95%CI = 2.39–5.64, p = 0.57), an improved mean reduction in the level of uric acid (MD = −54.06; 95% CI = −69.95 to −38.17). Meanwhile, the levels of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were also significantly decreased after the GSZD treatment with no increased relative risk of side-effects. Conclusions Our present works suggested that GSZD could be considered as an effective alternative remedy for clinical treatment of gout. In addition, it also provides a scientific basis for GSZD to be better applied in clinic in the future.

中文翻译：

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桂枝芍药知母汤治疗痛风患者疗效及耐受性的系统评价及Meta分析

摘要 背景 桂枝芍药知母汤是东方著名的中药方，几千年来一直被广泛用于治疗“关节痛”。目的系统回顾GSZD治疗痛风的临床研究，评价其临床疗效和安全性。方法 收集自建库至 2020 年 2 月 29 日期间所有与 GSZD 和痛风相关的随机对照试验 (RCT)，来自 Embase、PubMed、Cochrane 图书馆、Web of Knowledge、VIP 等数据库。本次系统评价和荟萃分析严格按照PRISMA（Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis）声明进行，所有测试分析均使用Stata（SE12.0）和Revman（5.3）完成。结果 共检索到 535 项研究，13 项研究被纳入我们的荟萃分析（n = 1056 名参与者）。与常规西药治疗相比，GSZD治疗显着增加了临床有效患者的数量（OR = 3.67，95%CI = 2.39-5.64，p = 0.57），改善了尿酸水平的平均降低（ MD = -54.06；95% CI = -69.95 至 -38.17）。同时，GSZD治疗后红细胞沉降率（ESR）、C反应蛋白（CRP）和白细胞介素6（IL-6）水平也显着降低，而副作用的相对风险没有增加。结论我们目前的工作表明，GSZD 可以被认为是临床治疗痛风的有效替代药物。此外，也为今后GSZD更好地应用于临床提供了科学依据。