Clinical Efficacy of Heat-clearing and Diuresis-promoting Prescription Combined with Western Medicine Treatment for Damp-heat Rheumatoid Arthritis

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of oral heat-clearing and diuresis-promoting traditional Chinese medicines(TCMs)combined with Western medicine treatment for damp-heat rheumatoid arthritis(RA).Methods Sixty-two patients with damp-heat RA were randomly divided into treatment group(n=31)and control group(n=31)according to the visiting order.The control group received oral leflunomide and meloxicam;the treatment group received compound Qiyi Capsule and Huangqin heat-clearing and arthralgia-removing Capsule in addition to the therapy for the control group.The treatment outcomes of the two groups were evaluated after 12 weeks of treatment.Results The treatment group had a significantly higher overall response rate than the control group(80.665%vs 64.52%,P0.05).Moreover,the treatment group had significantly higher decreases in serum levels of C-reactive protein and rheumatoid factors and scores on Health Scale,Self-Rating Depression Scale,and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale than the control group(P0.01).Conclusion Oral heat-clearing and diuresis-promoting TCMs combined with Western medicine treatment have good clinical efficacy in treating dampheat RA and can improve the mental status and social adaptability of patients.