A Study on the Medication Patterns for Chest Impediment Based on Evidence from Traditional Chinese Medicine Classics and Data Mining

SUN Min; ZHANG Huamin; TONG Lin; ZHANG Miao; QU Miao; ZHANG Lei

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1006-3250.2026.02.030

Abstract：Objective To systematically evaluate and analyze the formulas for treating chest impediment in ancient medical texts using evidence-based evaluation and data mining methods from traditional Chinese medicine classics.Methods The evidence of formulas from traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)classics for treating chest impediment was evaluated and graded using the Grading Scale for Evidence Evaluation of Ancient Chinese Medical Texts.High-level evidence was analyzed using the"Ancient and Modern Medical Case Cloud Platform"for metrics such as frequency of drug use,efficacy categories,nature and flavor,and meridian tropism.Association rule analysis and cluster analysis were also performed.Results A total of 155 pieces of evidence from TCM classics for treating chest impediment were included.Evaluation identified 31 high-level evidence formulas,including Renshen decoction,Fuling Xingren Gancao decoction,and Gualou Xiebai Banxia decoction.Data mining analysis revealed that the high-level evidence for treating chest impediment in ancient texts primarily featured drugs with the efficacy of dispersing cold and relieving pain,tonifying fire and assisting Yang,and warming and unblocking meridians.Warm-natured drugs were the most frequently used;the predominant flavor was pungent;and the primary meridian tropism was the spleen meridian.Association rule analysis indicated that Rougui(Cinnamomi Cortex)was the most commonly used drug for treating chest impediment and heart pain,with the drug pair"Renshen(Ginseng Radix Et Rhizoma)-Rougui(Cinnamomi Cortex)"being the most frequently used combination.Cluster analysis yielded four core formula groups,each reflecting distinct therapeutic approaches.Conclusion This study employed evidence-based evaluation and data mining methods on TCM classics to assess the quality and conduct in-depth analysis of the evidence for formulas treating chest impediment.The findings not only provide more reliable ancient textual evidence for the clinical treatment of chest impediment but also offer substantial ancient textual support for clinical decision-making in TCM.