Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis(IPF)is a chronic and fatal interstitial lung disease that poses a serious threat to human health and life,and currently there is no specific treatment for it except lung transplantation.The theory of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)holds that Qi deficiency and blood stasis are the critical pathogenesis of IPF,so the therapy of invigorating Qi and activating blood circulation is established as the important method for the treatment of IPF.Studies have found that the prescriptions for invigorating Qi and activating blood have definite efficacy in improving the clinical symptoms of patients with IPF and delaying the progression of the disease.Based on its clinical effectiveness,a large number of researches have been carried out on the relevant mechanism of invigorating Qi and activating blood circulation in the treatment of IPF in recent years.In this paper,we systematically reviewed the relevant literature,and made a review on the mechanism of Qi-invigorating and blood-activating therapy in the treatment of IPF from the aspects inhibiting inflammation,improving the metabolism of extracellular matrix,intervening epithelial/endothelial-mesenchymal transformation,resisting oxidative stress,reducing angiogenesis,activating cellular autophagy,regulating immune balance and fibrinolytic activity,so as to reveal the scientific connotation of Qi-invigorating and blood-activating therapy and provide a theoretical basis for the clinical application of this therapy in the treatment of IPF.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect and safety of Buyang Huanwutang in treatment of connective tissue disease-associated pulmonary fibrosis in the patients with syndrome of Qi deficiency and blood stasis and explore the possible anti-fibrosis mechanism of Buyang Huanwutang. MethodSixty-six patients with connective tissue disease-associated pulmonary fibrosis with syndrome of Qi deficiency and blood stasis were randomized to receive either Buyang Huanwutang combined with routine therapy or routine therapy for 4 weeks. The primary outcome indicator was change in forced vital capacity （FVC） from the baseline， and the secondary outcome indicators included the changes in percentage of predicted forced vital capacity （FVC%pred）， percentage of forced expiratory volume in first second to predicted value （FEV₁%pred）， King's Brief Interstitial Lung Disease （K-BILD） total score， 6 minute walking distance （6MWD）， hydroxyproline （HYP）， matrix metalloproteinase （MMP）， tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 （TIMP-1）， and transforming growth factor-β （TGF-β） from baseline. Patients in line with the inclusion criteria were included in the primary analysis， and sensitivity analysis was performed after multiple imputation of missing data. Safety set was adopted for safety analysis. ResultThe 66 patients （included in the sensitivity analysis） meeting the inclusion criteria included 34 in the observation group and 32 in the control group， and 60 patients finally received the whole trial intervention （included for primary analysis）. Compared with the baseline， the FVC increased in the observation group and decreased in the control group after intervention （P<0.01）， which was consistent between the sensitivity analysis and the primary analysis. The changes in FVC%pred， FEV₁%pred， 6MWD， and K-BILD total score from baseline in the observation group were superior to those in the control group （P<0.01）， with consistent results between the sensitivity analysis and the primary analysis. TIMP-1 in the observation group decreased compared with baseline （P<0.05）， while TIMP-1 in the two groups showed no significant changes from the baseline The observation group outperformed the control group in the changes in HYP， MMP-9， and TGF-β from baseline （P<0.05）. The common adverse events were cough， diarrhea， nausea， rash， and upper gastrointestinal tract infection， the incidence of which showed no statistical difference between the two groups. ConclusionBuyang Huanwutang can improve lung function， motor function， and quality of life in patients with connective tissue disease-associated pulmonary fibrosis and has good safety. The mechanism may be related to the reduction of TGF-β， MMP-9， and TIMP-1 levels and maintaining of MMP-9/TIMP-1 balance.

With the rapid development of modern biomedicine, subjective factors such as human emotion and disease experience are diluted. Accurate data, programmed diagnosis and treatment process and other objective factors cut off the effective communication between doctors and patients, aggravating the already tense doctor-patient relationship and intensifying various conflicts in the clinic. In order to improve clinical humanistic care, medical and nursing workers have launched reflections and explorations. Narrative medicine is a new form of medical humanistic practice, while parallel chart, as an important way of its practice, records patients’ subjective experiences and painful feelings. It is of great theoretical significance and clinical value to sinicize narrative medicine and construct and promote parallel chart in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) by studying the research progress of parallel chart in China and its application in TCM.