Chinese Herbal Medicine in the Treatment of Acute Respiratory Tract Infections: Review of Randomized and Controlled Clinical Trials

To review clinical trials of Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) in the management of acute respiratory infections (ARIs).MEDLINE, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, the Cochrane Library and three Chinese medical journals available in Australia.Studies in which a control group was used in comparing CHMs with a placebo or "Western medicine" (usually antibiotics) for treating ARIs were included.27 of 46 studies identified in the search of the databases and the Chinese journals fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Twenty-six of these were published in Chinese, and one in English. Twenty were randomised controlled trials and seven were "controlled clinical trials". Although most of the studies reported that CHMs are better than antibiotics for the treatment of ARIs, the quality of the studies was generally poor when evaluated for patient allocation, treatment description, outcome measurement and data analysis.Because the trial methodology of these studies was often inadequate or insufficiently documented, it is difficult to recommend the use of CHMs in ARIs. However, Shuang Huang Lian does appear to be useful for treating lower respiratory tract infections. More rigorous evaluation of CHMs is needed, as they are becoming popular treatments in many countries, including Australia.