OBJECTIVE: This cross-sectional study assessed the methodological quality of systematic reviews (SRs) of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) published in Chinese between Jan 2021 and Sep 2022. METHODS: Chinese language CHM SRs were identified through literature searches across 3 international and 4 Chinese databases. Methodological quality was appraised using A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews 2. Logistic regressions were used to explore associations between bibliographical characteristics and quality. RESULTS: Analyses of methodological quality found that among the 213 sampled SRs, 69.5% were of critically low quality, 30.5% were of low quality, and none achieved high or moderate quality. Common shortcomings included the failure to identify the studies excluded from the analysis, failure to disclose funding sources, and limited evaluation of the potential impact of bias on conclusions. Logistic regressions revealed that SRs led by corresponding authors affiliated with universities or academic institutions tended to be of lower quality than SRs led by authors affiliated with hospitals or clinical facilities. CONCLUSION Recent Chinese language CHM SRs exhibited limited methodological quality, making them unlikely to support the development of clinical practice guidelines. Urgent initiatives are needed to enhance training for researchers, peer-reviewers and editors involved in the preparation and publication of SRs. Adoption of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses reporting guidelines in Chinese language journals is crucial to improve the relevance of SRs for Chinese medicine development. Addressing deficiencies in methodology and reporting is essential for promoting evidence-based practices and informed clinical decisions in Chinese medicine. Please cite this article as: Jiang Y, Zhong CC, Wang BH, Xu SS, Ho FF, Kwong MH, Ho L, Zhou JHS, Lam KC, Liu JP, Zhang BT, Chung VCH. Methodological quality of systematic reviews on orally administered Chinese herbal medicine published in Chinese between 2021 and 2022: A cross-sectional study. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(5):492-501.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Systematic Reviews as Topic/standards* ; Humans ; China ; Administration, Oral ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

Objective:To explore the differences in reproductive tract microbiota between patients with moder-ate and severe intrauterine adhesions(IUA)and infertile patients with normal uterine cavities and the clinical sig-nificance.Methods:Thirty patients were enrolled in the study from June 1,2022 to September 12,2022.Among them,15 cases were confirmed as moderate to severe IUA by hysteroscopy(group A),and 15 cases of primary infertility were excluded from intrauterine diseases through outpatient hysteroscopy(group B).Perform high-throughput sequencing of secretions from the vagina,cervix,and uterine cavity separately.Results:There is no difference in the α diversity of intrauterine microbiota between the two groups,but the α diversity of intrauterine mi-crobiota in group A is significantly higher than that of cervical microbiota(P=0.036).At the genus level,the top 10 relative abundances are the same for both groups.At the species level,the abundance of lactobacillus iners in group A is significantly lower than that in group B(P=0.001).There is no statistically significant difference in the abundance of microorganisms in the vagina,cervix and uterine cavity of group A.Conclusions:The types of en-dometrial microbiota in IUA patients and infertile women are roughly the same,but the composition is different.There are differences in the diversity of reproductive tract microbiota in patients with IUA,with a higher diversity of microbiota in the uterine cavity.Which suggests that the pathogenesis of IUA may be related to the changes of endometrial microbiota,increased microbial diversity,complex microbial species,especially the imbalance of the microecology of lactobacillus,which is not conducive to the repair of endometrial damage.

Objective:To explore the differences in reproductive tract microbiota between patients with moder-ate and severe intrauterine adhesions(IUA)and infertile patients with normal uterine cavities and the clinical sig-nificance.Methods:Thirty patients were enrolled in the study from June 1,2022 to September 12,2022.Among them,15 cases were confirmed as moderate to severe IUA by hysteroscopy(group A),and 15 cases of primary infertility were excluded from intrauterine diseases through outpatient hysteroscopy(group B).Perform high-throughput sequencing of secretions from the vagina,cervix,and uterine cavity separately.Results:There is no difference in the α diversity of intrauterine microbiota between the two groups,but the α diversity of intrauterine mi-crobiota in group A is significantly higher than that of cervical microbiota(P=0.036).At the genus level,the top 10 relative abundances are the same for both groups.At the species level,the abundance of lactobacillus iners in group A is significantly lower than that in group B(P=0.001).There is no statistically significant difference in the abundance of microorganisms in the vagina,cervix and uterine cavity of group A.Conclusions:The types of en-dometrial microbiota in IUA patients and infertile women are roughly the same,but the composition is different.There are differences in the diversity of reproductive tract microbiota in patients with IUA,with a higher diversity of microbiota in the uterine cavity.Which suggests that the pathogenesis of IUA may be related to the changes of endometrial microbiota,increased microbial diversity,complex microbial species,especially the imbalance of the microecology of lactobacillus,which is not conducive to the repair of endometrial damage.

Hepatohilar cholangiocarcinoma is a common malignant tumor of the biliary system,and radical surgery is one of the important treatment methods.Due to the narrow space at the hi-lum and the high rate of anatomical variation,radical surgery is challenging.By using medical imag-ing technology and 3D reconstruction,surgeons can accurately determine the stage and classifica-tion of hilar cholangiocarcinoma preoperatively.They can assess the tumor's resectability by Ac-cording to the bile duct separation limit points(U point,P point)and anticipate the impact of portal vein,bile duct,and arterial variations on the surgical plan,thereby improving the rate of radical re-section and reducing complication rates.

This umbrella review aimed to summarize and provide a general evaluation of the effectiveness of current treatments for male infertility and assess the quality of evidence and possible biases. An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses available in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus, covering studies published up to October 2023, was conducted. Sperm concentration, morphology, and motility were used as endpoints to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatments. Of 2998 studies, 18 published meta-analyses were extracted, yielding 90 summary effects on sperm concentration ( n = 36), sperm morphology ( n = 26), and sperm motility ( n = 28) on 28 interventions. None of the meta-analyses were classified as having low methodological quality, whereas 12 (66.7%) and 6 (33.3%) had high and moderate quality, respectively. Of the 90 summary effects, none were rated high-evidence quality, whereas 53.3% ( n = 48), 25.6% ( n = 23), and 21.1% ( n = 19) were rated moderate, low, and very low, respectively. Significant improvements in sperm concentration, morphology, and motility were observed with pharmacological interventions (N-acetyl-cysteine, antioxidant therapy, aromatase inhibitors, selective estrogen receptor modulators, hormones, supplements, and alpha-lipoic acid) and nonpharmacological interventions (varicocele repair and redo varicocelectomy). In addition, vitamin supplementation had no significant positive effects on sperm concentration, motility, or morphology. Treatments for male infertility are increasingly diverse; however, the current evidence is poor because of the limited number of patients. Further well-designed studies on single treatment and high-quality meta-analysis of intertreatment comparisons are recommended.
Humans ; Male ; Antioxidants/therapeutic use* ; Infertility, Male/therapy* ; Meta-Analysis as Topic ; Sperm Count ; Sperm Motility ; Systematic Reviews as Topic

Objective:To investigate the incidence rate and development trend of birth defects in offspring after assisted reproductive technology (ART) in Beijing from 2010 to 2019.Methods:The institutions that carry out ART in Beijing were retrospectively investigated. The follow-up outcomes and the incidence of birth defects in a total of 389 978 ART treatment cycles were collected from 8 ART institutions between January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2019.Results:There were 1 367 ART pregnancies with birth defects, and the overall incidence rate was 120.87/10 000. The most common anomalies were malformations of circulatory system. The annual increase in birth defects was slightly higher during the pregnancy loss cycles (108.36%) than during the delivery cycles (103.77%). There was no significant difference in the prevalence of birth defects between artificial insemination (123.15?) and in vitro fertilization technology (105.23? , P=0.097). Conclusion:In recent 10 years, the incidence rate of birth defects in offspring conceived by ART at 8 reproductive centers in Beijing showed an increasing trend. The implementation of the tertiary prevention strategy of birth defects should be further strengthened to reduce the number of newborns with birth defects.

BACKGROUND: The placebo response of sham acupuncture in patients with primary dysmenorrhea is a substantial factor associated with analgesia. However, the magnitude of the placebo response is unclear. OBJECTIVE: This meta-analysis assessed the effects of sham acupuncture in patients with primary dysmenorrhea and the factors contributing to these effects. SEARCH STRATEGY: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane CENTRAL databases were searched from inception up to August 20, 2022. INCLUSION CRITERIA: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using sham acupuncture as a control for female patients of reproductive age with primary dysmenorrhea were included. DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS: Pain intensity, retrospective symptom scale, and health-related quality of life were outcome measures used in these trials. Placebo response was defined as the change in the outcome of interest from baseline to endpoint. We used standardized mean difference (SMD) to estimate the effect size of the placebo response. RESULTS: Thirteen RCTs were included. The pooled placebo response size for pain intensity was the largest (SMD = -0.99; 95% confidence interval [CI], -1.31 to -0.68), followed by the retrospective symptom scale (Total frequency rating score: SMD = -0.20; 95% CI, -0.80 to -0.39. Average severity score: SMD = -0.35; 95% CI, -0.90 to -0.20) and physical component of SF-36 (SMD = 0.27; 95% CI, -0.17 to 0.72). Studies using blunt-tip needles, single-center trials, studies with a low risk of bias, studies in which patients had a longer disease course, studies in which clinicians had < 5 years of experience, and trials conducted outside Asia were more likely to have a lower placebo response. CONCLUSION Strong placebo response and some relative factors were found in patients with primary dysmenorrhea. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42022304215. Please cite this article as: Sun CY, Xiong ZY, Sun CY, Ma PH, Liu XY, Sun CY, Xin ZY, Liu BY, Liu CZ, Yan SY. Placebo response of sham acupuncture in patients with primary dysmenorrhea: A meta-analysis. J Integr Med. 2023; 21(5): 455-463.
Female ; Humans ; Dysmenorrhea/therapy* ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Pain Management ; Needles ; Placebo Effect

Objective:To investigate the incidence rate and development trend of birth defects in offspring after assisted reproductive technology (ART) in Beijing from 2010 to 2019.Methods:The institutions that carry out ART in Beijing were retrospectively investigated. The follow-up outcomes and the incidence of birth defects in a total of 389 978 ART treatment cycles were collected from 8 ART institutions between January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2019.Results:There were 1 367 ART pregnancies with birth defects, and the overall incidence rate was 120.87/10 000. The most common anomalies were malformations of circulatory system. The annual increase in birth defects was slightly higher during the pregnancy loss cycles (108.36%) than during the delivery cycles (103.77%). There was no significant difference in the prevalence of birth defects between artificial insemination (123.15?) and in vitro fertilization technology (105.23? , P=0.097). Conclusion:In recent 10 years, the incidence rate of birth defects in offspring conceived by ART at 8 reproductive centers in Beijing showed an increasing trend. The implementation of the tertiary prevention strategy of birth defects should be further strengthened to reduce the number of newborns with birth defects.

Objective:To establish autoverification rules for coagulation tests in multicenter cooperative units, in order to reduce workload for manual review of suspected results and shorten turnaround time (TAT) of test reports, while ensure the accuracy of results.Methods:A total of 14 394 blood samples were collected from fourteen hospitals during December 2019 to March 2020. These samples included: Rules Establishment Group 11 230 cases, including 1 182 cases for Delta check rules; Rules Validation Group 3 164 cases, including 487cases for Delta check; Clinical Application Trial Group 77 269 cases. Samples were analyzed for coagulation tests using Sysmex CS series automatic coagulation analyzers, and the clinical information, instrument parameters, test results, clinical diagnosis, medication history of anticoagulant and other relative results such as HCT, TG, TBIL, DBIL were summarized; on the basis of historical data, the 2.5 and 97.5 percentile of all data arranged from low to high were initially accumulated; on the basis of clinical suggestions, critical values and specific drug use as well as relative guidelines, autoverification rules and limits were established.The rules were then input into middleware, in which Stage I/Stage II validation was done. Positive coincidence, negative coincidence, false negative, false positive, autoverification pass rate, passing accuracy (coincidence of autoverification and manual verification) were calculated. Autoverification rules underwent trial application in coagulation results reports.Results:(1) The autoverification algorisms involve 33 rules regarding PT/INR, APTT, FBG, D-dimer, FDP,Delta check, reaction curve and sample abnormalities; (2)Autoverification Establishment Group showed autoverification pass rate was 68.42% (7 684/11 230), the false negative rate was 0%(0/11230), coincidence of autoverification and manual verification was 98.51%(11 063/11 230), in which positive coincidence and negative coincidence were respectively 30.09% (3 379/11 230) and 68.42%(7 684/11 230); Autoverification Validation Group showed autoverification pass rate was 60.37%(1 910/3 164), the false negative rate was 0%(0/11 230), coincidence of autoverification and manual verification was 97.79%(3 094/3 164), in which positive coincidence and negative coincidence were respectively 37.42%(1 184/3 164) and 60.37%(1 910/3 164); (3) Trialed implementation of these autoverification rules on 77 269 coagulation samples showed that the average TAT shortened by 8.5 min-83.1 min.Conclusions:This study established 33 autoverification rules in coagulation tests. Validation showedthese rules could ensure test quality while shortening TAT and lighten manual workload.

Objective: To observe effect of Mori Folium-containing serum on glucose consumption and cell activity of fat cell line 3T3-L1 insulin resistance (IR) model, in order to screen out the optimal concentration of drug-containing serum, detect effect of Mori Folium on the content of inflammatory factors, and explore the possible mechanism. Method: 3T3-L1 preadipocytes in logarithmic growth phase were selected, and induced with 10 mg·L^-1 insulin (Ins), 0.25 mmol·L^-1 dexamethasone (DEX) and 0.5 mmol·L^-1 3-isobutyl-methylxanthine(IBMX) for 48 h and then with 10 mg·L^-1 Ins for 48 h. After the cells were differentiated into mature adipocytes, they were induced with 1 μmol·L^-1 DEX for 96 h to establish IR model. Glucose content in the supernatant of cells was detected by glucose oxidase after serum containing Mori Folium cultured for 12,24,36, 72 h. Methyl-thiazdyl-tetrazolium(MTT) was used to detect the effect of serum containing Mori Folium on IR cells activity. The content of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Meanwhile, the effects of inflammatory factors on the expressions of insulin signaling pathway proteins insulin receptor (InsR), insulin receptor substrate (IRS), p-IRS1 and glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) were determined by Western blot. Result: Serum containing Mori Folium could significantly increase the glucose consumption rate and cell activity of IR cells (P<0.01), reduce the content of TNF-α (P<0.01), and regulate the expression of insulin signaling pathway proteins (P<0.05,P<0.01). Conclusion: Mori Folium can significantly improve IR status of 3T3-L1 cells, and its mechanism may be related to inhibiting TNF-α and promoting the expressions of insulin signaling pathway proteins.