Add-on effect of Yu Ping Feng formula for childhood asthma: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Efficacy and safety of Yu-Ping-Feng powder for asthma in children: a protocol of systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND

Asthma has become the most common chronic disease in children, which seriously affects children's health and growth. Yu-Ping-Feng powder (YPFP) is widely used for the treatment of asthma in children, but there are few meta-analyses to assess the add-on effects of YPFP in children with asthma. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a systematic review to evaluate the efficacy and safety of YPFP in the management of asthma in children.

METHODS

PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), EMBASE, Web of Science and the Chinese electronic databases including China Network Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Biomedicine (CBM), Chinese Scientific Journals Database (VIP), and Wan Fang Database were searched for the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of YPFP in children with asthma based on the eligibility criteria from the date of the database inception to 28 November 2018. Two reviewers assessed the articles and extracted data from the included RCTs independently. Data will be synthesized by either the fixed-effects or random-effects model according to a heterogeneity test. We will assess the risk of bias with the Cochrane Collaboration Tool and overall quality of the evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system (GRADE). Primary outcomes include the improvement of symptoms including breathlessness, coughing, wheezing and the frequency of asthma exacerbations. Lung function, serum IgE level, blood eosinophil count, phlegm eosinophil count and adverse events will be assessed as the secondary outcomes. We will perform the data synthesis, sensitivity analyses, and subgroup analyses in the Rev-Man version 5.3 software. A funnel plot will be established to evaluate reporting bias.

RESULTS

This systematic review and meta-analysis will review and synthesis current clinical evidence of YPFP for the treatment of asthma in children.

CONCLUSION

This analysis will provide high quality evidence of YPFP for the treatment of asthma in children.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42018111223.

A network pharmacology-based approach to analyse potential targets of traditional herbal formulas: An example of Yu Ping Feng decoction

Herbal formulas from traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) have been extensively used in clinics as effective therapies, but it is still a great challenge to demonstrate the scientific basis for their therapeutic effects at the level of molecular biology. By taking a classic herbal formula (Yu Ping Feng decoction, YPF) as an example, this study developed a novel network pharmacology based method to identify its potential therapeutic targets. First, this study constructed a “targets–(pathways)–targets” (TPT) network in which targets of YPF were connected by relevant pathways; then, this network was decomposed into separate modules with strong internal connections; lastly, the propensity of each module toward different diseases was assessed by a contribution score. On the basis of a significant association between network modules and therapeutic diseases validated by chi-square test (p-value < 0.001), this study identified the network module with the strongest propensity toward therapeutic diseases of YPF. Further, the targets with the highest centrality in this module are recommended as YPF’s potential therapeutic targets. By integrating the complicated “multi-targets–multi-pathways–multi-diseases” relationship of herbal formulas, the method shows promise for identifying its potential therapeutic targets, which could contribute to the modern scientific illustration of TCMs’ traditional clinical applications.