Systematic review and meta-Analysis of traditional Chinese medicine for coronary borderline lesions
WANG Xinyi
TIAN Wende
XU Hao
CHEN Keji
Abstract：Objective To conduct a systematic review and Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials(RCTs)evaluating the efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)in treating coronary borderline lesions and to assess the evidence quality of existing studies.Methods Electronic searches were performed in PubMed,Embase,The Cochrane Library,Web of Science,CNKI,CBM,VIP,and Wanfang databases for RCTs on TCM interventions for coronary borderline lesions.Methodological quality was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool 5.1.0.Meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.3 software,and the GRADE system was applied to evaluate the evidence quality of statistically significant outcomes.Results Eighteen studies involving 1,799 patients were included.Compared with conventional Western medicine alone,integrated TCM and Western therapy significantly improved the effective rates of TCM syndromes,angina relief,and electrocardiogram normalization,enhanced Seattle Angina Questionnaire scores(including physical activity limitations),reduced inflammatory markers(hs-CRP,IL-6),improved lipid profiles(lowered TC,TG,LDL-C;elevated HDL-C),decreased average coronary stenosis diameter,reduced positive treadmill exercise test results,increased left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF),and lowered the incidence of major adverse cardiac events(MACE).GRADE evaluation indicated high-quality evidence for TCM in improving angina symptom efficacy,TCM syndrome efficacy,MACE reduction,LDL-C reduction,Seattle Angina Questionnaire-physical activity scores,and LVEF enhancement.Other outcomes were rated as very low-,low-,or moderate-quality evidence.Conclusions TCM demonstrates potential advantages in managing coronary borderline lesions.However,limitations in current evidence necessitate the establishment of a core outcome set tailored to TCM clinical trials and the implementation of large-scale RCTs to generate higher-quality evidence for this field.
Keywords：coronary borderline lesionstraditional chinese medicinesystematic reviewmeta-analysisGRADE evaluation
Publication Date：2026-01-20
Online Publishing Date：2026-03-25(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：9( 23-31 )