Stroke is the leading cause of mortality and disability in China. Chinese medicine integrated with conventional medicine is current widely used in the prevention and treatment of stroke. A clinical practice guideline for application of integrative medicine in stroke was urgently required. This guideline was developed according to the World Health Organisation Handbook for Guideline Development and the Guideline Development Handbook for Diagnosis and Therapy of Integrative Medicine. The systematic reviews were conducted following the Cochrane handbook. The quality of evidence and strength of recommendations were evaluated using the GRADE approach. The reporting of guideline followed the RIGHT statement. A multi-disciplinary working team was established. Eleven research questions from 15 clinical questions were identified by questionnaire surveys, face-to-face meetings, and analysis by the working team. Fourteen recommendations regarding integrative medicine for ischaemic stroke, haemorrhagic stroke, and complications of stroke were formulated from systematic reviews of the benefits, harms, cost-effectiveness, quality of evidence, the values and preferences of patients and their family members, feedback on proposed recommendations from medical practitioners from a variety of disciplines, and a face-to-face consensus meeting. This guideline focuses on clinical treatments that are specific to integrative medicine for stroke and can be used by medical practitioners at all levels in medical institutions and rehabilitation facilities.
Traditional Chinese medicine has been used for the treatment of many diseases including acute infections often associated with public health emergencies for thousands of years. However, clinical evidence supporting the use of these treatments is insufficient, and the mechanism for using Chinese medicine therapy in the public health setting has not been fully established. In this report, the Evidence-based Traditional and Integrative Chinese medicine Responding to Public Health Emergencies Working Group proposed five recommendations to facilitate the inclusion of Chinese medicine as part of our responses to public health emergencies. It is expected that the Working Group’s proposals may promote the investigation and practice of Chinese Medicine in public health settings.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), with high prevalence rate, mortality, and disability rate, and heavy burden caused by the disease, has become a major chronic disease seriously threatening public health worldwide. Chinese medicine and Western medicine both have advantages in diagnosing and treating COPD, which have been widely used in clinic. In order to improve the diagnostic and treatment level for COPD with integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine, Chinese Medicine of internal Medicine Committee of World federation of Chinese Medicine Societies organized and established a multidisciplinary background working group, the document was formulated by referring to the formulating method and process of international guidelines in clinical practice, current evidence with the best quality, and characteristics of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine in treating COPD and weighing pros and cons of interventions, 13 recommendations were established, physicians can refer to this guideline to formulate individualized treatment plans in combination with the specific conditions of patients.
ObjectiveThis study aimed to revise the perioperative recovery scale for integrative medicine (PRSIM) based on item response theory (IRT). MethodsUnder the guidance of IRT, a total of 349 patient data collected during the development of the original version of PRSIM at Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine were used. Principal component analysis was performed using SPSS 18.0 software to test the unidimensionality. The R language was utilized for parameter estimation, including discrimination coefficient, difficulty parameters and information content, as well as drawing item characteristic curves to assess item quality and estimate item functioning differences. A comprehensive screening process was carried out by combining expert consultations, patient evaluations, and discussions within a core group. ResultsThe degree of discrimination of all items ranged from −0.535 to 2.195. The difficulty coefficient ranged from −10.343 to 5.461, and the average information content of all items ranged from 0.043 to 1.075. Based on the criteria for parameter selection, nine items were retained. The results of expert consultations indicated the removal of 5 items and the modification of 7 items. After discussion within the core group, a final decision was made to remove 5 items. ConclusionBased on a synthesis of IRT and expert consultation feedback, and following discussions within the core group, a revised version comprising 15 items is retained and modified from the original 20 items.