Abstract
BACKGROUND: Rheumatic immune diseases are a group of chronic inflammatory diseases characterized by joint and systemic multi-organ involvement, including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and Sjogren's syndrome, among others. The pathogenesis of these diseases is related to the abnormal activation and regulatory imbalance of the immune system. The prevalence and morbidity of rheumatic immune diseases are high, imposing a significant burden on patients' quality of life and socio-economic costs. Currently, the treatment of rheumatic immune diseases mainly relies on Western medicine, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, glucocorticoids, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, and biologics. However, the therapeutic effects of Western medicine are not ideal, some patients poorly respond or are resistant to Western medicine, and long-term use often causes various adverse reactions. AIM: To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of Tripterygium wilfordii glycosides tablets combined with Western medicine in the treatment of patients with rheumatic immune diseases. METHODS: This study conducted a meta-analysis to systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of Tripterygium wilfordii glycosides tablets combined with Western medicine for patients with rheumatic immune diseases. Chinese and English databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the treatment of rheumatic immune diseases with Tripterygium wilfordii glycosides tablets combined with Western medicine. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 software. RESULTS: The meta-analysis included 11 RCTs involving 1026 patients with rheumatic immune diseases. The combined treatment significantly reduced the risk of disease recurrence (relative risk = 1.07, 95% confidence interval: 1.01-1.15, P < 0.05) and showed no significant heterogeneity (I (2) = 0%, P = 0.53), indicating that Tripterygium wilfordii glycosides tablets combined with Western medicine is an effective method to reduce the possibility of postoperative recurrence in patients with rheumatic immune diseases. However, due to the limited number and quality of the studies included, these results should be interpreted with caution. CONCLUSION: Tripterygium wilfordii glycosides tablets combined with Western medicine is an effective and safe treatment option for patients with rheumatic immune diseases and can be considered a clinical choice. However, more high-quality research is needed to validate this conclusion and provide more solid evidence for clinical practice.