PMID- 24986270
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20150331
LR  - 20220317
IS  - 1745-6215 (Electronic)
IS  - 1745-6215 (Linking)
VI  - 15
DP  - 2014 Jul 2
TI  - The effects of two Chinese herbal medicinal formulae vs. placebo controls for 
      treatment of allergic rhinitis: a randomised controlled trial.
PG  - 261
LID - 10.1186/1745-6215-15-261 [doi]
AB  - BACKGROUND: Allergic rhinitis is a chronic illness, affecting 10 to 40% of the 
      worldwide population. Chinese herbal medicines, the treatment of allergic 
      rhinitis, adopted thousands of years in ancient China, has recently raised much 
      attention among researchers globally. This study evaluates the effects of two 
      Chinese herbal formulae [Cure-allergic-rhinitis Syrup (CS) and Yu-ping-feng San 
      (YS)] in treating undergraduate nursing students with allergic rhinitis over a 
      3-month follow-up, when compared to a placebo control group. METHODS: A 
      double-blind, randomised controlled trial with repeated-measures, 
      three-parallel-groups design was conducted in a random sample of 249 participants 
      recruited from one university in Hong Kong. After baseline measurements, 
      participants were randomly assigned to CS, YS, or placebo groups (n=83 per 
      group). The main outcomes, including symptom severity, quality of life, and body 
      constitution, were measured with self-administered questionnaires at baseline and 
      immediately, 1 and 3 months after the 4-week interventions. RESULTS: 240 
      participants completed the trial, with 9 (3.6%) drop-outs. The results of 
      Generalised Estimating Equations test followed by pairwise contrasts tests 
      indicated that the participants who received CS showed significantly greater 
      reduction of symptoms (mean difference of CS vs. placebo=26.13-34.55, P<0.0005) 
      and improvements in quality of life (mean difference of CS vs. 
      placebo=12.81-16.76, P<0.001), and body constitution in 'Qi-deficiency', 
      'Yang-deficiency', and 'Inherited Special' (mean difference of CS vs. 
      placebo=7.05-8.12, 7.56-8.92, and 4.48-8.10, P=0.01-< 0.0005, 0.001-0.004, and 
      0.01-< 0.0005, accordingly, at three post-tests). The participants who received 
      YS also indicated significant greater improvements in symptom severity, quality 
      of life, and a few patterns of body constitution when compared to the placebo 
      group. However, its effects were lesser in strength (i.e., smaller effect sizes), 
      varieties of symptoms, and body constitution and sustainability over the 3 
      months. CONCLUSIONS: The herbal formula CS was found effective to reduce symptoms 
      and enhance quality of life in young adults (nursing students) with allergic 
      rhinitis in 'Yang- and/or Qi-deficiency' body constitution. Further controlled 
      trials of its effects in Chinese and/or Asians with allergic rhinitis in terms of 
      socio-demographic, ethnic and illness characteristics and a longer-term follow-up 
      are recommended. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial has registered at 
      ClinicalTrials.gov with an ID: NCT02027194 (3 January 2014).
FAU - Chan, Rose Y P
AU  - Chan RY
FAU - Chien, Wai Tong
AU  - Chien WT
AD  - School of Nursing, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, The Hong Kong 
      Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, SAR, China. 
      wai.tong.chien@polyu.edu.hk.
LA  - eng
SI  - ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT02027194
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Randomized Controlled Trial
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
DEP - 20140702
PL  - England
TA  - Trials
JT  - Trials
JID - 101263253
RN  - 0 (Anti-Allergic Agents)
RN  - 0 (Drugs, Chinese Herbal)
RN  - 0 (yu ping feng san)
SB  - IM
MH  - Anti-Allergic Agents/*therapeutic use
MH  - Double-Blind Method
MH  - Drugs, Chinese Herbal/*therapeutic use
MH  - Hong Kong
MH  - Humans
MH  - Phytotherapy
MH  - Plants, Medicinal
MH  - Quality of Life
MH  - Rhinitis, Allergic/diagnosis/*drug therapy/psychology
MH  - Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal/diagnosis/*drug therapy/psychology
MH  - Severity of Illness Index
MH  - Students, Nursing
MH  - Surveys and Questionnaires
MH  - Time Factors
MH  - Treatment Outcome
PMC - PMC4094638
EDAT- 2014/07/06 06:00
MHDA- 2015/04/01 06:00
PMCR- 2014/07/02
CRDT- 2014/07/03 06:00
PHST- 2014/03/07 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2014/06/17 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2014/07/03 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2014/07/06 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2015/04/01 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2014/07/02 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 1745-6215-15-261 [pii]
AID - 10.1186/1745-6215-15-261 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - Trials. 2014 Jul 2;15:261. doi: 10.1186/1745-6215-15-261.