Meta-analysis of the clinical efficacy of Chinese herbal decoction combined with arthroscopy in the treatment of gouty arthritis

Objective:To systematically evaluate the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine decoction combined with arthroscopy in the treatment of gouty arthritis.Methods:A systematic search of CNKI,CBM,WanFang,VIP,PubMed,Cochrane Library,and EMBASE databases,and the receipt of the database until February 2021.Randomized controlled trials(RCTs)of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)decoction combined with arthroscopy in the treatment of gouty arthritis.Two researchers independently read the title and abstract to screen and them read the full text to clarify whether it should be included.The method of Cochrane systematic review was used to evaluate the quality of the literature,and the RevMan 5.3 software was used to conduct meta-analysis of the data.Results:Nineteen RCTs were finally included.A total of 1383 patients,697 cases in the treatment group were treated with traditional Chinese medicine decoction combined with arthroscopy,and 686 cases in the control group were treated with arthroscopy alone or combined with western medicine.Meta-analysis results showed that the total clinical effective rate(P<0.00001)of the treatment group was better than that of the control group.Visual analogue scoring(VAS)score(P=0.0005,P<0.00001,P=0.03)and erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR)level(P<0.00001,P<0.00001,P<0.00001)reduction in each subgroup was better than that of the control group.The Lysholm score of the treatment group increased(P<0.00001,P<0.00001,P=0.19),while for blood uric acid(UA)level(P<0.00001,P=0.18,P<0.0001)and C-reactive protein(CRP)levels(P<0.0001,P<0.00001,P=0.23)two subgroups were better than the control group,but there was no significant difference in one subgroup.Conclusion:Traditional Chinese medicine decoction combined with arthroscopy is effective in treating gouty arthritis,which can relieve pain,improve joint function,and reduce body inflammation and uric acid levels.However,in the future,clinical studies with larger sample sizes,more reasonable designs,and higher quality are still needed to demonstrate this conclusion.