Table 4.
Summary of findings for studies meta-analysis.
| Intervention and Comparator Intervention | Outcomes | Number of Participants (Studies) | Anticipated Absolute Effects (95% CI) | Quality of the Evidence (GRADE) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EAHM compared to CM for inflammatory skin manifestation of plaque psoriasis | PASI 70 | 1865 (18 trials) |
161 more per 1000 (from 108 more to 218 more) | ⊕⊕⊕◯ MODERATE a |
| PASI 60 | 2479 (29 trials) |
126 more per 1000 (from 75 more to 182 more) | ⊕⊕◯◯ LOW a,c |
|
| Continuous PASI score | 2139 (27 trials) |
MD 2.3386 point lower (3.3068 lower to 1.3704 lower) | ⊕⊕◯◯ LOW a,c |
|
| IL-17 | 262 (4 trials) |
SMD 1.17 SD lower (2.18 lower to 0.16 lower) |
⊕⊕◯◯ LOW a,c |
|
| IL-23 | 262 (4 trials) |
SMD 1.3204 SD lower (3.0143 lower to 0.3734 higher) |
⊕◯◯◯ VERY LOW a,b,c |
|
| TNF-α | 584 (5 trials) |
SMD 1.4396 SD lower (2.8303 lower to 0.499 lower) |
⊕⊕◯◯ LOW a,c |
|
| DLQI | 259 (4 trials) |
MD 3.1161 point lower (4.2796 lower to 1.9526 lower) |
⊕⊕⊕◯ MODERATE a |
EAHM: East Asian herbal medicine; CM: conventional medicine; DLQI: Dermatology Life Quality Index; IL-17: Interlukin-17; IL-23: Interlukin-23 MD: mean difference; PASI: psoriasis area severity index; RCT: randomized clinical trial; RR: risk ratio; SD: standardized difference; SMD: standardized mean difference; TNF-α: tumor necrosis factor alpha. GRADE working group grades of evidence. High quality: Further research is very unlikely to change our confidence in the estimate of effect. Moderate quality: Further research is likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and may change the estimate. Low quality: Further research is very likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and is likely to change the estimate. Very low quality: very uncertain about the estimate. a: Study design with some bias in randomized or distributed blind. b: The 95% confidence interval passes 0 (MD and SMD) or 1 (RR and OR) and the other interventions (OIs) are not satisfied. c: The confidence intervals are less overlapping, or the heterogeneity is high.