A meta-analysis evaluated the effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicine as a supplement to conventional care for patients with diabetic foot ulcers

Background 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. Methods Using dichotomous or contentious random or fixed effect models, the outcomes of this meta-analysis were examined, and the odds Ratio (OR) and the mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed. 17 examinations from 2006 to 2021 were enrolled for the present meta-analysis including 1140 personals with diabetic foot ulcers. Results 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). Conclusions 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. Yet, attention should be implemented while relating to its values since most of the selected examinations had a low sample size and some comparisons had a low number of selected studies.