Background: s/Aims: Non-invasive models stratifying clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH) are limited. Herein, we developed a new non-invasive model for predicting CSPH in patients with compensated cirrhosis and investigated whether carvedilol can prevent hepatic decompensation in patients with high-risk CSPH stratified using the new model. Methods: Non-invasive risk factors of CSPH were identified via systematic review and meta-analysis of studies involving patients with hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG). A new non-invasive model was validated for various performance aspects in three cohorts, i.e., a multicenter HVPG cohort, a follow-up cohort, and a carvediloltreating cohort. Results: In the meta-analysis with six studies (n=819), liver stiffness measurement and platelet count were identified as independent risk factors for CSPH and were used to develop the new “CSPH risk” model. In the HVPG cohort (n=151), the new model accurately predicted CSPH with cutoff values of 0 and –0.68 for ruling in and out CSPH, respectively. In the follow-up cohort (n=1,102), the cumulative incidences of decompensation events significantly differed using the cutoff values of <–0.68 (low-risk), –0.68 to 0 (medium-risk), and >0 (high-risk). In the carvediloltreated cohort, patients with high-risk CSPH treated with carvedilol (n=81) had lower rates of decompensation events than non-selective beta-blockers untreated patients with high-risk CSPH (n=613 before propensity score matching [PSM], n=162 after PSM). Conclusions Treatment with carvedilol significantly reduces the risk of hepatic decompensation in patients with high-risk CSPH stratified by the new model.

Background: s/Aims: Non-invasive models stratifying clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH) are limited. Herein, we developed a new non-invasive model for predicting CSPH in patients with compensated cirrhosis and investigated whether carvedilol can prevent hepatic decompensation in patients with high-risk CSPH stratified using the new model. Methods: Non-invasive risk factors of CSPH were identified via systematic review and meta-analysis of studies involving patients with hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG). A new non-invasive model was validated for various performance aspects in three cohorts, i.e., a multicenter HVPG cohort, a follow-up cohort, and a carvediloltreating cohort. Results: In the meta-analysis with six studies (n=819), liver stiffness measurement and platelet count were identified as independent risk factors for CSPH and were used to develop the new “CSPH risk” model. In the HVPG cohort (n=151), the new model accurately predicted CSPH with cutoff values of 0 and –0.68 for ruling in and out CSPH, respectively. In the follow-up cohort (n=1,102), the cumulative incidences of decompensation events significantly differed using the cutoff values of <–0.68 (low-risk), –0.68 to 0 (medium-risk), and >0 (high-risk). In the carvediloltreated cohort, patients with high-risk CSPH treated with carvedilol (n=81) had lower rates of decompensation events than non-selective beta-blockers untreated patients with high-risk CSPH (n=613 before propensity score matching [PSM], n=162 after PSM). Conclusions Treatment with carvedilol significantly reduces the risk of hepatic decompensation in patients with high-risk CSPH stratified by the new model.

Background: s/Aims: Non-invasive models stratifying clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH) are limited. Herein, we developed a new non-invasive model for predicting CSPH in patients with compensated cirrhosis and investigated whether carvedilol can prevent hepatic decompensation in patients with high-risk CSPH stratified using the new model. Methods: Non-invasive risk factors of CSPH were identified via systematic review and meta-analysis of studies involving patients with hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG). A new non-invasive model was validated for various performance aspects in three cohorts, i.e., a multicenter HVPG cohort, a follow-up cohort, and a carvediloltreating cohort. Results: In the meta-analysis with six studies (n=819), liver stiffness measurement and platelet count were identified as independent risk factors for CSPH and were used to develop the new “CSPH risk” model. In the HVPG cohort (n=151), the new model accurately predicted CSPH with cutoff values of 0 and –0.68 for ruling in and out CSPH, respectively. In the follow-up cohort (n=1,102), the cumulative incidences of decompensation events significantly differed using the cutoff values of <–0.68 (low-risk), –0.68 to 0 (medium-risk), and >0 (high-risk). In the carvediloltreated cohort, patients with high-risk CSPH treated with carvedilol (n=81) had lower rates of decompensation events than non-selective beta-blockers untreated patients with high-risk CSPH (n=613 before propensity score matching [PSM], n=162 after PSM). Conclusions Treatment with carvedilol significantly reduces the risk of hepatic decompensation in patients with high-risk CSPH stratified by the new model.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the dynamic changes of glucocorticoid (GC) dose and the feasibility of GC discontinuation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients under the background of Chinese medicine (CM). METHODS: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included 1,196 RA patients enrolled in the China Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry of Patients with Chinese Medicine (CERTAIN) from September 1, 2019 to December 4, 2023, who initiated GC therapy. Participants were divided into the Western medicine (WM) and integrative medicine (IM, combination of CM and WM) groups based on medication regimen. Follow-up was performed at least every 3 months to assess dynamic changes in GC dose. Changes in GC dose were analyzed by generalized estimator equation, the probability of GC discontinuation was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curve, and predictors of GC discontinuation were analyzed by Cox regression. Patients with <12 months of follow-up were excluded for the sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: Among 1,196 patients (85.4% female; median age 56.4 years), 880 (73.6%) received IM. Over a median 12-month follow-up, 34.3% (410 cases) discontinued GC, with significantly higher rates in the IM group (40.8% vs. 16.1% in WM; P<0.05). GC dose declined progressively, with IM patients demonstrating faster reductions (median 3.75 mg vs. 5.00 mg in WM at 12 months; P<0.05). Multivariate Cox analysis identified age <60 years [P<0.001, hazard ratios (HR)=2.142, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.523-3.012], IM therapy (P=0.001, HR=2.175, 95% CI: 1.369-3.456), baseline GC dose ⩽7.5 mg (P=0.003, HR=1.637, 95% CI: 1.177-2.275), and absence of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs use (P=0.001, HR=2.546, 95% CI: 1.432-4.527) as significant predictors of GC discontinuation. Sensitivity analysis (545 cases) confirmed these findings. CONCLUSIONS RA patients receiving CM face difficulties in following guideline-recommended GC discontinuation protocols. IM can promote GC discontinuation and is a promising strategy to reduce GC dependency in RA management. (Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, No. NCT05219214).
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy* ; Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Retrospective Studies

Functional dyspepsia (FD), characterized by persistent or recurrent dyspeptic symptoms without identifiable organic, systemic or metabolic causes, is an increasingly recognized global health issue. The objective of this guideline is to equip clinicians and nursing professionals with evidence-based strategies for the management and treatment of adult patients with FD using traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The Guideline Development Group consulted existing TCM consensus documents on FD and convened a panel of 35 clinicians to generate initial clinical queries. To address these queries, a systematic literature search was conducted across PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP Database, China Biology Medicine (SinoMed) Database, Wanfang Database, Traditional Medicine Research Data Expanded (TMRDE), and the Traditional Chinese Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System (TCMLARS). The evidence from the literature was critically appraised using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. The strength of the recommendations was ascertained through a consensus-building process involving TCM and allopathic medicine experts, methodologists, pharmacologists, nursing specialists, and health economists, leveraging their collective expertise and empirical knowledge. The guideline comprises a total of 43 evidence-informed recommendations that span a range of clinical aspects, including the pathogenesis according to TCM, diagnostic approaches, therapeutic interventions, efficacy assessments, and prognostic considerations. Please cite this article as: Zhang SS, Zhao LQ, Hou XH, Bian ZX, Zheng JH, Tian HH, Yang GH, Hong WS, He YY, Liu L, Shen H, Li YP, Xie S, Shu J, Zeng BF, Li JX, Liu Z, Xiao ZH, Xiao JD, Zheng PY, Huang SG, Chen SL, Fei GJ. International clinical practice guideline on the use of traditional Chinese medicine for functional dyspepsia (2025). J Integr Med. 2025; 23(5):502-518.
Dyspepsia/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Practice Guidelines as Topic ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use*

Objective To study the effect of Ditan Decoction combined with aripiprazole and olanzapine in the treatment of schizophrenia and its influence on serum inflammatory factors chnage.Methods Seventy-seven patients with schizophrenia meeting the requirements visiting the outpatient department and hospitalized in Dazu District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Dazu District Mental Health Center from July 2021 to March 2023 were selected as the study subjects and divided into the observation group(n=38)and control group(n=39).The control group was treated with aripiprazole and olanzapine,and the observation group was combined with Ditan Decoction on the basis of the control group.After 8 weeks of treatment,the TCM syndrome scores,Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale(PANSS)score,serum inflammatory factors(IL-6,IL-1β,IL-17)levels were compared between the two groups.Results The total effective rate was 97.37％in the observation group and 84.65％in the control group,and the difference was statistically signifi-cant(P＜0.05).The TCM syndrome score of each item and total scores after treatment in the observation group were lower than those in the control group(P＜0.05),the PANSS positive symptoms,negative symp-toms,general psychopathology and total scores in the observation group were lower than those in the control group(P＜0.05).The IL-17,IL-6 and IL-1β levels after treatment in observation group were lower than those in the control group(P＜0.05).Conclusion Ditan Decoction combined with aripiprazole and olanzapine has significant clinical efficacy in the treatment of schizophrenia,which could further reduce the symptom score of the patients and improve the serum inflammatory factors levels.The treatment is highly safe and worthy of clinical recommendation.

Objective To observe the efficacy and safety of Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides in the continuation treatment of mild and moderate depression.Methods An open,single-arm,multi-center design was adopted in our study.Adult patients with mild and moderate depression who had received acute treatment of Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides were enrolled and continue to receive Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides capsules for 24 weeks,the dose remained unchanged during continuation treatment.The remission rate,recurrence rate,recurrence time,and the change from baseline to endpoint of Hamilton Depression Scale(HAMD),Hamilton Anxiety Scale(HAMA),Clinical Global Impression-Severity(CGI-S)and Arizona Sexual Experience Scale(ASEX)were evaluated.The incidence of treatment-related adverse events was reported.Results The scores of HAMD-17 at baseline and after treatment were 6.60±1.87 and 5.85±4.18,scores of HAMA were 6.36±3.02 and 4.93±3.09,scores of CGI-S were 1.49±0.56 and 1.29±0.81,scores of ASEX were 15.92±4.72 and 15.57±5.26,with significant difference(P＜0.05).After continuation treatment,the remission rate was 54.59％(202 cases/370 cases),and the recurrence rate was 6.49％(24 cases/370 cases),the recurrence time was(64.67±42.47)days.The incidence of treatment-related adverse events was 15.35％(64 cases/417 cases).Conclusion Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides capsules can be effectively used for the continuation treatment of mild and moderate depression,and are well tolerated and safe.

Objective To observe the effect of dulaglutide combined with insulin aspart and metformin on blood glucose,pancreatic beta-cell status and physique in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)and obesity.Methods Elderly patients with T2DM and obesity were divided into the control group and the treatment group according to the queue method.Both groups were given intensive insulin therapy with insulin aspart injection at 0.4-0.6 U·kg-1·d-1 and oral administration of 0.5 g of metformin tablets,tid.A week later,the treatment of control group was switched to sequential therapy with insulin glargine injection at an initial dose of 0.4-0.6 U·kg-1·d-1,qn.The dose was adjusted according to blood glucose concentration.During this period,0.5 g of metformin tablets was administrated,tid,for 12 consecutive weeks.Meanwhile,treatment of the treatment group was switched to sequential therapy with 1.5 mg of dulaglutide injection,once a week.During this period,0.5 g of metformin tablets was administrated,tid,for 12 consecutive weeks.The two groups were compared in terms of clinical efficacy,blood glucose level[glycosylated hemoglobin(HbAlc),fasting plasma glucose(FPG)],pancreatic beta-cell status[fasting insulin(FINS),homeostasis model assessment-β(HOMA-β)and homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance index(HOMA-IR)],and physical parameters[waist circumference and body mass index(BMI)].Safety was evaluated.Results Fifty-three cases and fifty-one cases were included in the treatment group and the control group,respectively.After treatment,the total effective rates of the treatment group and the control group were 98.11％(52 cases/53 cases)and 84.31％(43 cases/51 cases),and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).After treatment,HbAlc in the treatment and the control group were(7.01±0.75)％and(7.63±0.82)％;FPG levels were(6.23±0.70)and(6.62±0.74)mmol·L-1;FINS levels were(5.25±1.06)and(6.48±1.12)mU·L-1;HOMA-β were 32.62±6.53 and 27.19±5.18;HOMA-IR were 1.31±0.25 and 1.65±0.28;waist circumference were(82.31±6.04)and(85.79±6.82)cm;BMI were(27.14±1.23)and(27.91±1.15)kg·m-2.The differences in above indicators between the treatment group and the control group were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).Adverse drug reactions in the treatment group mainly included nausea,vomiting and skin rash.Adverse drug reactions in the control group mainly included nausea and vomiting.The total incidence rates of adverse drug reactions in the treatment and the control group were 11.32％and 9.80％,without statistically significant difference(P＞0.05).Conclusion Dulaglutide combined with insulin aspart and metformin can effectively improve blood glucose,lipids,inflammation and pancreatic β-cell status in elderly patients with T2DM and obesity,reduce glycemic excursions,and promote decreases in waist circumference and BMI,with good safety.

Purpose To explore the clinicopathological features and molecular characteristics of primary CD5+diffuse large B cell lymphoma(DLBCL).Methods Immunohisto-chemistry and next-generation sequencing(NGS)were used to compare the pathological features,immunophenotypes,and mo-lecular characteristics between primary CD5+DLBCL and CD5-DLBCL,and to analyze their relationship with prognosis and clinical characteristics of patients.Results Among 311 DLBCL patients,there were 46 cases(14.7％)of CD5+DLBCL.There were no statistically significant differences in patient gen-der,clinical staging,international prognostic index between CD5+DLBCL and CD5-DLBCL,and between CD5+DLBCL with and without MYD88 L265P mutation(P＞0.05).Immuno-phenotypically,the overexpression of BCL2(69.5％vs 49.4％,P=0.003)and the co-expression of BCL2 and C-MYC(26％vs 14％,P=0.04)were higher in the CD5+DLBCL group than those in the CD5-DLBCL group;the expression of C-MYC(53％vs 20％),BCL6(93.3％vs 61.3％),Ki67(93.3％vs 64.5％),and co-expression(46.7％vs 20.8％)were higher in the CD5+with MYD88 L265P mutation group than those in the CD5+without MYD88 L265P mutation group(P＜0.05).Survival analysis showed that the disease progres-sion-free survival time of patients in the CD5+DLBCL group tended to be shorter than that of patients in the CD5-DLBCL group(P=0.09).Furthermore,the disease progression-free survival time of patients in the CD5+without MYD88 L265P mutation group was significantly longer than that of patients in the CD5+with MYD88 L265P mutation group(P=0.04).NGS detection found differences in the distribution of accompan-ying mutated genes between CD5+DLBCL and CD5-DLBCL groups.ConclusionCD5 expression and CD5+with MYD88 L265P mutation may be potential indicators of poor prognosis in DLBCL patients.