Effect of Chinese herbal medicine as an adjunctive technique to standard treatment for people with diabetic foot ulcers: A meta-analysis

Abstract

The meta-analysis aimed to assess and compare the effect of Chinese herbal medicine as an adjunctive technique to standard treatment for people with diabetic foot ulcers. This meta-analysis investigated the results through either dichotomous or contentious random or fixed effect models, calculating the odds ratio (OR) and mean difference (MD) along with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The analysis included 17 studies conducted between 2006 and 2021, comprising a total of 1140 individuals with diabetic foot ulcers. Chinese herbal medicine had a significantly higher total effective rate (OR, 2.77; 95% CI, 1.89-4.07, p<0.001), lower wound size after treatment (MD, -2.44; 95% CI, -3.46- -1.43, p<0.001), lower number of patients without any improvement (OR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.15-0.45, p<0.001), and lower time of diabetic wound ulcer healing (MD, -10.46; 95% CI, -14.91- -6.37, p<0.001) compared to standard treatment in personal with diabetic foot ulcers. However, no significant differences were found between Chinese herbal medicine and standard treatment in the number of patients with 30% or more reductions in the ulcer area of the diabetic foot ulcer (OR, 2.69; 95% CI, 0.70-10.30, p=0.15). The examined data revealed that Chinese herbal medicine had a significantly higher total effective rate, lower wound size after treatment, lower number of patients without any improvement, and lower time of diabetic wound ulcer healing, however, no significant differences were found in the number of patients with 30% or more reductions in the ulcer area compared to standard treatment in personal with diabetic foot ulcers. However, caution should be exercised when interpreting its findings, as many of the chosen studies had a small sample size, and certain comparisons were based on a limited number of selected studies.