Forsch Komplementarmed Klass Naturheilkd. 2002 Dec; 9(6): 352-8.

Availability of research results on traditional chinese pharmacotherapy.

Pach D, Willich SN, Becker-Witt C.

INTRODUCTION: The use of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been increasing in the Western world over the last few years. Although Traditional Chinese Pharmacotherapy (TCP) plays a central role in TCM treatment in China, acupuncture is a more common form of treatment in the Western world than TCP. OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to evaluate the quantity and availability of clinical trials on TCP using Medline. METHODS: Medline searches were performed in PubMed (1966-June 2001) using the MeSH (Medical Subjects Heading) term 'drugs, Chinese herbal.' In a second step we restricted the search to meta-analyses, reviews, randomized controlled trials and clinical trials. Additionally we used the PubMed-Research- Methodology-Filter. Abstracts and information concerning the publication type were used to assess the available information. RESULTS: Using the MeSH term 'drugs, Chinese herbal', 6,504 publications (50% in Chinese) published in 662 journals were identified. The specific search using the PubMed-Research-Methodology-Filter adjusted to 'therapy' and 'specificity' identified 118 studies (11 reviews, 55 randomized controlled trials, 26 controlled trials, 7 longitudinal studies, 12 experiments, and 7 others), 65 of which were written in English. Most studies used western diagnoses for treatment. The most common investigated diagnosis was atopic dermatitis (7 trials) followed by angina pectoris (6 trials). CONCLUSION: Only limited information about TCP research is accessible for physicians using PubMed. Moreover, half of the studies are published in Chinese. The PubMed-Research- Methodology-Filter proved to be an effective tool in restricting the search to relevant publications.