Table 1.

General characteristics of included randomized controlled trials.

Author	Sample size		Age	Sex		Study design	Disease category	Diagnostic and evaluating criteria	Treating method	Treating duration	Dropout	Major outcome parameter	Side effect
	Treatment group	Control group		Treatment group	Control group
Sheehan and Atherton 1992	47		1.5–18.1 years	Male: 27 Female: 20		Placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover trial	Nonexudative atopic eczema	Simple scoring system	Traditional Chinese herbal formula (PSE101) versus placebo	5 months (assessed at 4 weekly intervals)	10	(1) Median clinical score for erythema and surface damage. (2) Clinical scores change for treatment group and control group. (3) The percentage changes of median and 95% CI median of clinical scores.	Eosinophilia and elevated serum IgE levels.
Fung et al. 1999	40		7–50 years	Male: 19 Female: 18		Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study	Recalcitrant atopic dermatitis	The severity and extent of four clinical parameters (erythema, surface damage, lichenification, and scaling)	Traditional Chinese herbal formula (Zemaphyte) versus placebo	20 weeks (assessed at 4 weekly intervals)	3	(1) The median clinical scores variation for erythema, surface damage, lichenification, and scaling. (2) The comparison of median clinical scores at fourth week between the treatment group and control group. (3) The personal tendency of patients for Zemaphyte and placebo. (4) Complete blood picture and renal and liver function tests.	Hair loss, transient dizziness, gastrointestinal upsets, lichenoid eruption.
Lun and Rong 2000	25	25	15–60 years	Male: 31 Female: 19		Randomized controlled trial	Intractable cutaneous pruritus	—	Auricular acupuncture versus combination of cyproheptadine and calamine lotion	5 weeks	0	Therapeutic effects between two groups (curing, markedly effective, effective, ineffective).	No report.
Bai et al. 2007	120		15–60 years (mean age: 27.45 years)	Male: 42 Female: 78		Randomized controlled trial	Acute eczema	Clinical criteria of acute eczema comes from Clinical Dermatology	Traditional Chinese medicine method (Shuangfujin) versus normal saline group; boric acid group; Pikangwang group	4 days	0	(1) Clinical score variation of skin damage. (2) Clinical score variation of pruritus. (3) The total clinical effectiveness and basic recovery comparison. (4) Adverse effects. (5) Syndrome improvement. (6) Laboratory index.	Regional erythema eruption and burning sensation.
Hon et al. 2007	42	43	5–21 years	Male: 23 Female: 19	Male: 23 Female: 20	Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study	Atopic dermatitis	SCORAD; CDLQI; allergic rhinitis score	Traditional Chinese herbal medicine concoction versus placebo	12 weeks	0	(1) Improvement from baseline in mean SCORAD. (2) Improvement from baseline in mean CDLQI scores. (3) Blood counts, eosinophil counts, total IgE levels, and liver and renal function.	Upper respiratory tract; infection; diarrhoea; abdominal pain; episodes of asthma.
Chen et al. 2008	38	37	18–54 years	Male: 3 Female: 35	Male: 5 Female: 32	Randomized controlled trial	Facial corticosteroid addictive dermatitis	Clinical criteria for facial corticosteroid addictive dermatitis and TCM syndrome differentiation criteria (Xuexufengzao)	Modified Wuhua decoction combined with levocetirizine versus levocetirizine	30 days	12	(1) Clinical scores. (2) The variation of symptom score before and after treatment. (3) The variation of skin erythema and TEWL before and after treatment. (4) Adverse effect.	Gastrointestinal upsets; mild drowsiness.
Senapati et al. 2008	25	25	Treatment group mean age: 16.09 years; control group mean age: 17.46 years	Male: 11 Female: 14	Male: 7 Female: 18	Randomized placebo-controlled trial	Atopic dermatitis	Hanifin and Rajka criteria: diagnostic features of atopic dermatitis; IISA	Evening primrose oil versus placebo	5 months	12	(1) The scores of study cases at baseline and at five monthly evaluations. (2) Effect of evening primrose oil versus placebo on total scores of patients of atopic dermatitis. (3) Adverse effect.	Not found.
Shi et al. 2008	25	22	Treatment group: 14–32 years; control group: 15–31 years	Male: 14 Female: 11	Male: 12 Female: 10	Randomized controlled trial	Atopic dermatitis	The UK working party's diagnostic criteria for atopic dermatitis derivation	Jiaweidangguiyin combined with loratadine versus loratadine	4 months	0	(1) The clinical effectiveness comparison between experimental group and control group. (2) The cytokine levels comparison before and after treating. (3) Safety and adverse effect.	Not found.
Xu et al. 2008	22	20	Treatment group: 52.09 ± 16.94 years; control group: 43 ± 16.53 years	Male: 10 Female: 12	Male: 10 Female: 10	Randomized controlled trial	Chronic eczema	Clinical criteria of chronic eczema comes from Clinical Dermatology and TCM syndrome differentiation criteria (Xuexufengzao); SSRI and Eczema Area and Severity Index score	Herbal Saxifrage cream versus hydrocortisone	4 weeks	0	(1) Symptom score before treatment and SSRI after treatment in two groups. (2) Clinical efficacy in two groups.	No report.
Gao et al. 2009	30	30	Treatment group: 35.6 ± 13.8 years; control group: 37.5 ± 12.9 years	Male: 13 Female: 17	Male: 11 Female: 19	Randomized controlled trial	Chronic urticaria	Chronic urticaria comes from the TCM disease diagnostic and effective criteria	Penetrative needling of Shendao versus levocetirizine hydrochloride	12 weeks	0	(1) Comparison between acupuncture and medication groups in the symptom scores. (2) Comparison between acupuncture and medication groups in serum IgE level.	No report.
Kobayashi et al. 2010	37	40	20–40 years	—		A 6-month, Multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study	Atopic dermatitis	The scoring system by the Atopic Dermatitis Severity Evaluation Committee of Japanese Dermatological Association	Traditional herbal medicine (Hochu-ekki-to) versus placebo	24 weeks	14	(1) Clinical efficacy of Hochu-ekki-to(time course change of skin severity score during examination; time course change of equivalent dosage of topical agent during examination). (2) Adverse effects and abnormal laboratory findings.	No report.
Pfab et al. 2010	30		18–50 years	Male: 16 Female: 14		A blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial	Atopic dermatitis	Visual analogue scale and the Eppendorf Itch Questionnaire	Acupuncture versus placebo	10 minutes	0	(1) Wheal and flare size. (2) Skin perfusion measured at the stimulus site. (3) The validated Eppendorf Itch Questionnaire.	No report.
Cheng et al. 2011	47	24	Treatment group mean age: 12.2 years; control group mean age: 13.6 years	Male: 25 Female: 22	Male: 12 Female: 12	A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial	Refractory atopic dermatitis	Hanifin and Rajka criteria: diagnostic features of atopic dermatitis	Chinese herbal product (Xiao-Feng-San) versus placebo	8 weeks	10	(1) Improvement in scores (clinical lesion; erythema; surface damage; pruritus; sleep) between baseline and week 8. (2) Score improvement (clinical lesion; erythema; surface damage; pruritus; sleep) from baseline to weeks 4, 8, and 12. (3) Immunologic markers variation before and after treatment. (4) Laboratory index.	Transient elevation of aspartate aminotransferase; gastrointestinal upsets.
Hon et al. 2012	42	43	5–21 years	—		Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study	Atopic dermatitis	Hanifin and Rajka criteria: diagnostic features of atopic dermatitis; SCORAD; allergic rhinitis scores; the Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index	Traditional Chinese herbal medicine versus placebo	12 weeks	0	(1) Percentage improvement of SCORAD from baseline. (2) The total allergic rhinitis scores between two groups. (3) Adverse effects.	Not found.
Pfab et al. 2011	5	5	Mean age: 25.2 ± 4.5	Male: 8; female: 2		Unicenter, single-blinded, prospective, randomized clinical pilot trial	Atopic eczema	Visual analogue scale; SCORAD	Acupuncture versus blank group	33 days	0	(1) SCORAD comparison between two groups. (2) Itch intensity (VAS) between two groups. (3) Basophil activation test comparison between two groups.	No report.
Xiu and Wang 2011	100	100	Treatment group: 14 months to 60 years; control group: 2 to 65 years	Male: 60 Female: 40	Male: 55 Female: 45	Randomized controlled trial	Chronic urticaria	—	Acupoint injection with autoblood versus medicine group	30 days	0	(1) Clinical effectiveness comparison between two groups. (2) The mean onset time between two groups. (3) The cured numbers for different kinds of chronic urticaria.	No report.
Choi et al. 2012	12	12	Treatment group: 18.6 ± 8.4 years; control group: 14.2 ± 6.0 years old	Male: 5 Female: 7	Male: 5 Female: 7	Parallel, randomized, active-controlled, double-blind trial	Atopic dermatitis	Hanifin and Rajka criteria: diagnostic features of atopic dermatitis and dampness-heat pattern type of AD; SCORAD and EASI score	TJ-15 combined with TJ-17 versus TJ-15	4 weeks	5	(1) Change of SCORAD score. (2) Change of EASI score. (3) Clinical safety evaluated by laboratory index.	No report.
Lee et al. 2012	8	7	19–79 years; treatment group median age: 34 years; control group median age: 36 years	Male: 4 Female: 4	Male: 6 Female: 1	Single-center, randomized controlled trial	Atopic dermatitis	VAS scores, EASI scores, and IGA	Acupressure versus using any prescription or over-the-counter medications or lotions (except acupressure technique)	4 weeks	0	(1) Change in VAS between control and experimental groups. (2) Change in IGA score between control and experimental groups. (3) Change in EASI score between control and experimental groups.	No report.
Pfab et al. 2012	20		Mean age: 23.3 ± 1.7 years	Male: 6 Female: 14		A patient- and examiner-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial	Atopic dermatitis	Atopic dermatitis diagnosis [scoring atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) > 20]; VAS; EIQ	VAp, VAa, VC versus PAp, PAa, and PC	20 minutes	0	(1) Mean itch intensity. (2) Wheal and flare size. (3) Qualitative assessment of itch intensity (EIQ). (4) Mean attention scores. (5) Evaluation of blinding.	No report.
Wu et al. 2012	50	35	18–70 years	Male: 28 Female: 22	Male: 15 Female: 20	Randomized controlled trial	Atopic dermatitis	Clinical criteria of chronic urticaria comes from Clinical Dermatology	Yiqi Huoxue Qufeng decoction versus Fuyang granule	8 weeks	0	(1) The clinical effects comparison between two groups. (2) The DAO comparison between two groups. (3) The positive rate of IgE comparison between two groups.	No report.
Quan et al. 2014	30	30	Treatment group: 24.3 years; control group: 23.45 years	Male: 13 Female: 16	Male: 14 Female: 16	Randomized controlled trial	Atopic dermatitis	The western medicine diagnostic criteria and traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis standard; SCORAD scores	Flying needle combined with herbal medicine versus herbal medicine combined with regular skin-care	3 months	1	(1) The comparison of SCORAD scores. (2) Total effective rate. (3) Side effect.	No report.
Liu et al. 2015	250		5–25 years	Male: 107 Female: 143		Randomized controlled trial	Atopic dermatitis	The criteria of Hanifin and Rajka; SCORAD; QoL scores; self-assessment scores	PTQXT versus combination TCM therapy versus control group (mometasone furoate)	12 weeks	0	(1) Efficacy outcomes (SCORAD, QoL scores, self-assessment scores). (2) Adverse effects. (3) Test of blinding.	Slight diarrhoea.
Mehrbani et al. 2015	24	18	Treatment group: 28.62 ± 2.30 years; control group: 24.33 ± 1.50 years	Male: 4 Female: 20	Male: 2 Female: 16	A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial	Moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis	The criteria of Hanifin and Rajka	Dodder seed extract versus placebo	15 days	10	(1) Efficacy. (2) Safety profile.	Anorexia; mild gastrointestinal problems.
Yen and Hsieh 2016	16	17	Treatment group: 32.9 ± 13.4 years; control group: 39.6 ± 12.3 years	Male: 10 Female: 5	Male: 10 Female: 6	A preliminary, randomized, controlled, open-label study	Atopic dermatitis/ eczema	The criteria of Hanifin and Rajka; EASI scores and TIS scores	TYO (Tzu-Yun ointment) versus TS cream (topical steroid)	8 weeks	0	(1) Effect of TYO and TS cream on EASI and TIS scores in patients with eczema/atopic dermatitis. (2) Comparison between effects of TYO and TS cream on EASI and TIS scores in patients with eczema/atopic dermatitis.	No report.

Note. SCORAD: SCORing Atopic Dermatitis; CDLQI: Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index; IISA: Intensity Item Score Aggregate; TCM: traditional Chinese medicine; SSRI: Symptom Score Reducing Index; EASI: Eczema Area and Severity Index; VAS: visual analogue scale; IGA: Investigator's Global Assessment; EIQ: Eppendorf Itch Questionnaire; QoL: Quality of Life; PTQXT: Pei Tu Qing Xin Tang; TIS: Three-Item Severity.