Skip to main content

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Med.
Sec. Nephrology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1477569

Efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine Cordyceps sinensis as an adjunctive treatment in patients with renal dysfunction: A systematic-review and meta-analysis

Provisionally accepted
Shan Lin Shan Lin 1,2*Fenfang Wu Fenfang Wu 2Chunhua Xu Chunhua Xu 3Xinlei Si Xinlei Si 2Fei He Fei He 2Kang Xu Kang Xu 4Yu Zhang Yu Zhang 4
  • 1 Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
  • 2 Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
  • 3 Longgang District People's Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
  • 4 Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, Anhui Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: The effectiveness of using Cordyceps sinensis as an adjuvant therapy for patients with renal dysfunction (RD), especially acute kidney injury (AKI), is still a topic of debate. In response to the current conflicting data, the present meta-analysis was conducted to assess the clinical effectiveness of C. sinensis in the treatment of RD and to provide evidence for clinical practice.Methods: Several databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Wanfang, were systematically searched updated to March 25, 2024. We used the combined ratio (OR) and diagnostic ratio (DOR) to assess the therapeutic effect of C. sinensis. In addition, risk of bias was assessed by Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool.The present meta-analysis ultimately incorporated 15 studies comprising a total of 1310 patients with RD. We pooled estimated the sensitivity, specificity as well as DOR from patient-based analyses with 0.89 (95% confidence interval [CI]. 0.84-0.93), 0.69 (95% CI: 0.59-0.77) and 18.0 (95% CI: 8.0-39.0), respectively. Moreover, we calculated the combined positive likelihood ratio (PLR) as well as negative likelihood ratio (NLR) to be 2.8 (95% CI: 2.1-3.9) and 0.16 (95% CI: 0.10-0.27), respectively. Additionally, area under the curve (AUC) of the summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) was calculated as 0.88 (95% CI: 0.85-0.90) reflecting prognostic accuracy. Subsequently, subgroup analysis indicated that the clinical efficacy of C. sinensis in northern Chinese patients with RD was superior to that of southern. On the other hand, C. sinensis significantly reduced patients' blood creatinine levels, shortened the oliguria period, and increased urine osmolality, indicating it can improve the function of glomeruli and renal tubules.: Our results indicate that C. sinensis can be considered a dependable clinical treatment for individuals with RD. It may improve the function of glomeruli and tubules, promote the recovery of tubular function, and thus enhance the clinical therapeutic effects.

    Keywords: Cordyceps sinensis, Acute Kidney Injury, Inflammation, clinical efficacy, adjunctive treatment

    Received: 08 Aug 2024; Accepted: 18 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Lin, Wu, Xu, Si, He, Xu and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Shan Lin, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.