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Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics

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01-10-2017 | Review

Wenjing decoction (herbal medicine) for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Authors: Li Gao, Chunhua Jia, Heng Zhang, Cuilan Ma

Published in: Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics | Issue 4/2017

Abstract

Purpose

Wenjing decoction is a well-accepted traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea in East Asia, but its clinical effectiveness and risk have not been adequately assessed. In this paper, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of Wenjing decoction for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea.

Methods

Eight databases were used in our research: the Cochrane Library, the Web of Science, PubMed, EMBASE, the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), the Chinese Scientific Journal Database, and the Wan-fang Database. The following search terms were used: (Wenjing decoction OR Wenjing formula OR Wenjing tang) AND (primary dysmenorrhea OR dysmenorrhea OR painful menstruation) AND (randomized controlled trial). No language limitation was used.

Results

A total of 18 studies, including 1736 patients, were included in the meta-analysis. Wenjing decoction was shown to be significantly better than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for the improvement of primary dysmenorrhea according to the clinical effective rate (RR 1.41, 95% CI 1.24–1.61), the visual analogue scale (MD −1.77, 95% CI −2.69 to −0.84), and the pain scale for dysmenorrhea (MD −1.81, 95% CI −2.41 to −1.22).

Conclusions

The results supported the clinical use of Wenjing decoction for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea. However, the quality of the evidence for this finding was low due to a high risk of bias in the included studies. Therefore, well-designed randomized controlled trials are still needed to further evaluate the efficacy of Wenjing decoction for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea.

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Title: Wenjing decoction (herbal medicine) for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Li Gao
Chunhua Jia
Heng Zhang
Cuilan Ma
Publication date: 01-10-2017
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics / Issue 4/2017
Print ISSN: 0932-0067
Electronic ISSN: 1432-0711
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-017-4485-7

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Wenjing decoction (herbal medicine) for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusions

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