• Yan Sun, Yong Zhang, Zheng Wang, Quanda Liu, and Juefei Mo.
• Guang'an Men Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Xicheng District, Beijing, P.R. China.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2024 May 3; 103 (18): e38046e38046.

BackgroundPostcholecystectomy diarrhea (PCD) is among the most distressing and well-known clinical complications of cholecystectomy. Despite various available treatment options, clinical outcomes are greatly limited by unclear pathophysiological mechanisms. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is widely used as a complementary and alternative therapy for the treatment of functional diarrhea. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CHM for the treatment of PCD.MethodsElectronic database searches were conducted using the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Wanfang Data, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and the Chinese Scientific Journal Database. All RCTs on CHMs for managing patients with PCD were included. The meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 software.ResultsThe present meta-analysis included 14 RCTs published between 2009 and 2021 in China. The primary findings indicated that CHM had a higher total efficacy and cure rate as a monotherapy for PCD (P < .00001). Two trials reported the scores of the main symptoms with statistically significant differences in stool nature (P < .00001), defecation frequency (P = .002), and abdominal pain and bloating (P < .00001). In addition, CHM reduced CD3+ and CD4+ levels more effectively in terms of T lymphocyte subset determination (P < .00001). The main symptoms of PCD in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are splenic deficiency and liver stagnation. All treatments were used to strengthen the spleen and (or) soothing the liver.ConclusionCHM had a favorable effect on PCD. No adverse events were observed. Larger, high-quality RCTs are warranted to draw definitive conclusions and standardize treatment protocols.Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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