Journal of the American Medical Association, Original Investigation article
JAMA, October 24/31, 2023
A randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled clinical trial of 3797 patients from 124 hospitals in China within 24 hours of onset of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI)
What’s Interesting about this article?
- Traditional Chinese medicines are the most commonly prescribed therapeutic agents worldwide.
- There are around 12,800 traditional Chinese medicines. Most are derived from plants or from mixtures of animal and mineral components. Tongxinluo is a traditional Chinese medicine derived from a mixture of plants and animal products.
- This study found significant clinical improvement with Tongxinluo at 30 days and 1-year.
JournalDoc Comments:
- Very few Chinese medicines have been studied using Western world randomized controlled studies. This was a rigorous study by Chinese investigators that meets the standards of Evidence-based Medicine.
- An accompanying editorial by Richard Bach, MD points out that ingredients in Tongxinluo include “the dried bodies of cockroaches, centipedes, leeches, cicadas and scorpions”.
- It is not surprising that the major adverse drug reactions reported with Tongxinluo were stomach discomfort and nausea. However, the relative risk reduction of 37% for adverse outcomes is very impressive and warrants further RCTs.
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