Efficacy and safety of Chinese patent medicine for urinary tract infections: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

IntroductionChinese patent medicines (CPMs) have garnered increasing attention as therapeutic options for urinary tract infections (UTIs); however, robust evidence supporting their efficacy remains limited. To address this gap, we performed a network meta-analysis (NMA) incorporating both direct and...

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Main Authors: Jialei Zhao, Haibin Tang, Rutong Xu, Gang Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-08-01
Series:Frontiers in Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2025.1622999/full
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author Jialei Zhao
Haibin Tang
Rutong Xu
Gang Chen
author_facet Jialei Zhao
Haibin Tang
Rutong Xu
Gang Chen
author_sort Jialei Zhao
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionChinese patent medicines (CPMs) have garnered increasing attention as therapeutic options for urinary tract infections (UTIs); however, robust evidence supporting their efficacy remains limited. To address this gap, we performed a network meta-analysis (NMA) incorporating both direct and indirect comparisons to systematically evaluate and rank the efficacy and safety profiles of CPMs for UTIs.MethodsWe systematically searched five electronic databases from their inception through April 2025. Data were analyzed using a frequentist approach with random-effects models.ResultsTwenty-three studies with nine types of medicines and 3,250 patients were included in this study. While network meta-analysis suggested that Xueniaoan capsule with antibiotics (XNA_Ab) had the highest probability of being optimal, this conclusion requires cautious interpretation because of the low certainty of evidence from the included studies.ConclusionSeveral CPMs demonstrate potential therapeutic benefits for UTIs; however, these preliminary findings require validation through rigorously designed large-scale randomized controlled trials.
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institution Kabale University
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publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
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spelling doaj-art-c74c99cc8f824dd39a072c06cc4046fd2025-08-21T05:27:11ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Medicine2296-858X2025-08-011210.3389/fmed.2025.16229991622999Efficacy and safety of Chinese patent medicine for urinary tract infections: a systematic review and network meta-analysisJialei ZhaoHaibin TangRutong XuGang ChenIntroductionChinese patent medicines (CPMs) have garnered increasing attention as therapeutic options for urinary tract infections (UTIs); however, robust evidence supporting their efficacy remains limited. To address this gap, we performed a network meta-analysis (NMA) incorporating both direct and indirect comparisons to systematically evaluate and rank the efficacy and safety profiles of CPMs for UTIs.MethodsWe systematically searched five electronic databases from their inception through April 2025. Data were analyzed using a frequentist approach with random-effects models.ResultsTwenty-three studies with nine types of medicines and 3,250 patients were included in this study. While network meta-analysis suggested that Xueniaoan capsule with antibiotics (XNA_Ab) had the highest probability of being optimal, this conclusion requires cautious interpretation because of the low certainty of evidence from the included studies.ConclusionSeveral CPMs demonstrate potential therapeutic benefits for UTIs; however, these preliminary findings require validation through rigorously designed large-scale randomized controlled trials.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2025.1622999/fullnetwork meta-analysisrandomized controlled trialsurinary tract infectionsChinese medicinesystematic review
spellingShingle Jialei Zhao
Haibin Tang
Rutong Xu
Gang Chen
Efficacy and safety of Chinese patent medicine for urinary tract infections: a systematic review and network meta-analysis
Frontiers in Medicine
network meta-analysis
randomized controlled trials
urinary tract infections
Chinese medicine
systematic review
title Efficacy and safety of Chinese patent medicine for urinary tract infections: a systematic review and network meta-analysis
title_full Efficacy and safety of Chinese patent medicine for urinary tract infections: a systematic review and network meta-analysis
title_fullStr Efficacy and safety of Chinese patent medicine for urinary tract infections: a systematic review and network meta-analysis
title_full_unstemmed Efficacy and safety of Chinese patent medicine for urinary tract infections: a systematic review and network meta-analysis
title_short Efficacy and safety of Chinese patent medicine for urinary tract infections: a systematic review and network meta-analysis
title_sort efficacy and safety of chinese patent medicine for urinary tract infections a systematic review and network meta analysis
topic network meta-analysis
randomized controlled trials
urinary tract infections
Chinese medicine
systematic review
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2025.1622999/full
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AT haibintang efficacyandsafetyofchinesepatentmedicineforurinarytractinfectionsasystematicreviewandnetworkmetaanalysis
AT rutongxu efficacyandsafetyofchinesepatentmedicineforurinarytractinfectionsasystematicreviewandnetworkmetaanalysis
AT gangchen efficacyandsafetyofchinesepatentmedicineforurinarytractinfectionsasystematicreviewandnetworkmetaanalysis