TABLE 1.
Characteristics of included SRs and MAs.
| Included SRs | No. of primary studies (patients) | Course of stroke | Severity of stroke | Adverse events (No. of patients in treatment group/control group) | Study types | Intervention measures | Outcome(s) | Main conclusion | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treatment group | Control group | |||||||||
| Li. (2006) | 3/160 | <30 d | Unclear | There were no adverse events in included RCTs | RCT | XNJ + CT | CT | Total effective rate | There is no enough evidence to prove the efficacy and safety of XNJ for acute IS. More high- quality trials are required | |
| Ma et al. (2017) | 53/4,915 | Unclear | Unclear | Not mentioned | RCT | XNJ + CT | CT | Overall response rate/neurological deficit score/serum levels of MMPs/hemorheology/blood lipid amelioration/hemodynamic/clinical symptom improvement | XNJ might be beneficial for IS | |
| Ma et al. (2013) | 11/961 | <30 d | Unclear | There were no adverse events in included RCTs | RCT | XNJ + CT | No limitation | Total effective rate/neurological deficit score | XNJ might be beneficial for improving neurological impairment of acute IS | |
| Wang et al. (2017) | 24/2,514 | <14 d | Unclear | Slight skin rashes, nausea or vomiting, headache, dizziness, drop in blood pressure, gastrointestinal reactions (17/21) | RCT | XNJ + CT | CT | Total effective rate/neurological deficit score/hemorheological parameters | XNJ combined with CT had good therapeutic effect on acute IS, while its safety still needed to be further investigated | |
| Li et al. (2013) | 36/3,114 | Unclear | Unclear | Slight skin rashes (2/0) | RCT | XNJ + CT | CT/other therapy + CT | Total effective rate/mortality/cure rate/neurological deficit score/hemorheological parameters | XNJ may decrease mortality and increase the total effective rate of IS. More high-quality trials are required | |
| Lin et al. (2010) | 34/3,233 | Unclear | Unclear | There were no adverse events in included RCTs | RCT | XNJ + CT | CT | Total effective rate/neurological deficit score/GCS/hemorheological parameters | XNJ may be superior to basic treatment in improving the total effective rate and neurological impairment. More high- quality trials are required | |
| Xu et al. (2005) | 13/1,203 | Unclear | Unclear | Slight skin rashes (2/0) | RCT | XNJ + CT | Other therapy + CT | Total effective rate/mortality/cure rate/neurological deficit score | XNJ may decrease mortality and increase the total effective rate of IS. More high-quality trials are required | |
| Chen and Gu, (2017) | 16/1,310 | Unclear | Unclear | Not mentioned | RCT | XNJ + CT | CT | Total effective rate/neurological deficit score | XNJ combined with CT could improve the total effective rate and neurological impairment of IS patients | |
| Wang et al. (2006) | 9/932 | <14 d | Unclear | Slight skin rashes, nausea (4/0) | RCT/q-RCT | XNJ + CT | CT/CT + other therapy | Effective rate/mortality/neurological deficit score/hemorheological parameters | More high- quality trials are required to prove the efficacy and safety of XNJ for acute IS | |
| Liao et al. (2019) | 4/523 | Unclear | Unclear | Slight skin rashes, nausea or vomiting, headache, dizziness (8/3) | RCT | XNJ + CT | CT | GCS | XNJ can improve the consciousness of patients with consciousness disorder after stroke, and has fewer adverse reactions and better safety | |
SRs, systematic reviews; MAs, meta-analyses; RCT, randomized controlled trial; q-RCT, quasi-randomized controlled trial; MMPs, matrix metalloproteinases; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; CSS, Chinese Stroke Scale; GCS, Glasgow Coma Scale.