Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013:2013:352130.
doi: 10.1155/2013/352130. Epub 2013 Apr 9.

Astragalus in the prevention of upper respiratory tract infection in children with nephrotic syndrome: evidence-based clinical practice

Chuan Zou  1 , Guobin Su, Yuchi Wu, Fuhua Lu, Wei Mao, Xusheng Liu
Affiliations

Astragalus in the prevention of upper respiratory tract infection in children with nephrotic syndrome: evidence-based clinical practice

Chuan Zou et al. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013.

Abstract

Aims. To explore whether Astragalus or its formulations could prevent upper respiratory infection in children with nephrotic syndrome and how best to use it. Methods. We transformed a common clinical question in practice to an answerable question according to the PICO principle. Databases, including the Cochrane Library (Issue 5, 2012), PUBMED (1966-2012.8), CBM (1978-2012.8), VIP (1989-2012.8), and CNKI (1979-2012.8), were searched to identify Cochrane systematic reviews and clinical trials. Then, the quality of and recommendations from the clinical evidence were evaluated using the GRADEpro software. Results. The search yielded 537 papers. Only two studies with high validity were included for synthesis calculations. The results showed that Astragalus granules could effectively reduce URTI in children with nephrotic syndrome compared with prednisone treatment alone (23.9% versus 42.9%; RR = 0.56 and 95% CI = 0.33-0.93). The dose of Astragalus granules was 2.25 gram (equivalent to 15 gram crude Astragalus) twice per day, at least for 3-6 months. The level of evidence quality was low, but we still recommended the evidence to the patient according to GRADEpro with the opinion of the expert. Followup showed the incidence of URTI in this child decreased significantly. Conclusions. Astragalus granules may reduce the incidence of URTI in children with nephrotic syndrome.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Search process: flow diagram of included and excluded studies. A search for relevant studies was performed using the PubMed database, Embase, Cochrane library, CNKI, CBM, and VIP subsequently filtered out based on the inclusion/exclusion described.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. McIntyre P, Craig JC. Prevention of serious bacterial infection in children with nephrotic syndrome. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health. 1998;34(4):314–317. - PubMed
    1. Du PF, Zhu SR, Wang GP. An analysis for nosocomial infection in primary nephrotic syndrome—a report of 125 cases. Chinese Journal of Clinical Pediatrics. 1996;14(1):35–36.
    1. Wu QY, Wu X. Clinical study of gammaglobulin on upper respiratory infection prevention in nephrotic syndrome children. Journal of Hainan Medical College. 2009;15(8):879–880.
    1. Wu B, Xu NF. Clinical epidemiology study on risk factors for nosocomial infection in children with nephrotic syndrome. Chinese Journal of Nosocomiology. 2000;10(3):34–35.
    1. MacDonald NE, Wolfish N, McLaine P, Phipps P, Rossier E. Role of respiratory viruses in exacerbations of primary nephrotic syndrome. Journal of Pediatrics. 1986;108(3):378–382. - PubMed