Journal of integrative medicine
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Review Meta Analysis
Traditional Chinese medicinal herbs combined with epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor for advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) targeted treatment has been a standard therapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but it is not tolerated well by all patients. In China, some studies have reported that traditional Chinese medicinal herbs (TCMHs) may increase efficacy and reduce toxicity when combined with EGFR-TKI, but outside of China few studies of this kind have been attempted. ⋯ TCMH intervention can increase efficacy and reduce toxicity when combined with EGFR-TKI for advanced NSCLC, although this result requires further verification by more well designed studies.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Chemotherapy in conjunction with traditional Chinese medicine for survival of elderly patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: protocol for a randomized double-blind controlled trial.
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is considered an important complementary therapy with beneficial effects for cancer patients. Elderly patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are a complex patient group with increasing co-morbidity and shrinking physiological reserve, and may derive substantial benefit from the supportive aspects of TCM. Researchers from Shanghai Longhua Hospital found that qi and yin deficiency is a common syndrome in patients with stage III or IV lung cancer. This project was designed to study the combination of single-agent chemotherapy with TCM methods of benefiting qi and yin in elderly patients with advanced NSCLC. ⋯ Results from this study may provide evidence on the effectiveness, and parameters for the usage of single-agent chemotherapy combined with or without TCM on PFS of elderly patients with NSCLC.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Functional and psychosocial effects of pulmonary Daoyin on patients with COPD in China: study protocol of a multicenter randomized controlled trial.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major public health problem worldwide. Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is an established intervention for the management of patients with COPD. Exercise training is an important part of PR, and its effectiveness in patients with COPD is well established. However, alternative methods of PR training such as Daoyin have not been appropriately studied. Hence, alternative forms of exercise training that require less exercise equipment and no specific training place should be evaluated. This paper describes the study protocol of a clinical trial that aims to determine if pulmonary Daoyin training will improve the exercise capacity and psychosocial function of patients with COPD in China. ⋯ It is hypothesized that pulmonary Daoyin will have beneficial effects in improving exercise capacity and psychosocial function of patients with stable COPD, and will provide an alternative form of exercise training that is accessible for the large number of people with COPD.
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Even in secular societies, a small portion of patients find their spirituality to help cope with illness. But for the majority of patients, psychosocial and spiritual needs are neither addressed nor even considered a relevant factor by health care professionals. To measure such specific needs, the Spiritual Needs Questionnaire (SpNQ) was developed. The aim of this study was to validate the Chinese version of the SpNQ (SpNQ-Ch) and thus to measure psychosocial and spiritual needs of Chinese patients. ⋯ The SpNQ-Ch is congruent with its primary version, and can be used in future studies with the mostly nonreligious patients from China. First findings indicate specific psychosocial and spiritual needs which should be addressed by health care professionals to support patients in their struggle with chronic illness in terms of psycho-emotional stabilization, finding hope and meaning, and thus achieving peaceful states of mind despite chronic illness.