Objective: To evaluate systematically the efficacy and safety of Danshenchuanxiongqin Injection (DCI) in the treatment of unstable angina pectoris (UAP).
Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) regarding DCI used for treating UAP were searched in English and Chinese electronic databases from inception to January 2014. Two reviewers independently retrieved RCTs and extracted relevant information. The Cochrane risk of bias method was used to assess the quality of included studies, and a Meta-analysis was conducted with Review Manager 5.2 software.
Results: Eleven RCTs involving 1034 participants were included. The methodological quality was relatively passable. The Meta-analysis indicated that the combined use of DCI and conventional treatment with Western Medicine (WM) was more efficacious in the outcomes of total effective rate [Relative Risk (RR) = 1.27, 95% CI (confidence interval; 1.18, 1.35), P < 0.000 01], the total effective rate of ECG [RR = 1.40, 95% CI (1.18, 1.66), P < 0.000 01], total cholesterol [Mean difference (MD) = -0.58, 95% CI (- 0.83, - 0.33), P < 0.000 01], total triglycerides [MD = - 0.36, 95% CI (- 0.54, - 0.17), P = 0.0001], and the number of ST-segment depression [MD = -0.36, 95% CI (- 0.54, - 0.17), P = 0.0001]. There were two adverse drug reactions reported in one study.
Conclusion: Based on the systematic review, DCI combined with WM appeared to be efficacious in the treatment UAP. However, the evidence of DCI for treating UAP requires large-scale and double-blind RCTs to substantiate these findings.