Randomized and controlled trials of Sanren Decoction’s treatment on upper respiratory infections: a meta-analysis

Objective: This study is to systematically review the clinical efficacy of Sanren Decoction on the treatment of upper respiratory infections (URI). Methods: A systematic literature search of PubMed, EMbase, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, CNKI, VIP and WanFang databases was performed for randomized controlled trials (RCT) of Sanren Decoction’s treatment on URI until October 2015. Two reviewers independently screened articles based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted information and evaluated the methodology quality of all included articles, using RevMan5.2 Meta-analysis software. Results: There were 53 articles identified through the search process, and 7 articles were finally included with 571 patients. It was showed in the meta-analysis that the cure rate [OR = 3.51, 95% CI (2.19, 5.15), P < 0.001] and effectiveness rate [OR = 3.91, 95% CI (2.58, 5.90), P < 0.001] of Sanren Decoction’s treatment on URI was significantly higher than that of control group. Conclusions: Sanren Decoction’s treatment on URI is effective. However, due to the limited number of studies and low quality of some articles, further study with high-quality evidence is needed.