Clinical efficacy and safety of Traditional Chinese Medicine combined with Western Medicine in patients with diabetic acute ischemic stroke

ObjectiveTo observe the clinical efficacy and safety of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) combined with Western Medicine (WM) in patients with diabetic acute ischemic stroke.MethodsNinety patients with diabetic acute ischemic stroke were randomly divided into a treatment group and a control group. The 45 patients in the treatment group were given standardized treatment with TCM combined with WM. They received corresponding oral Chinese decoctions three times daily, according to their TCM syndromes, along with basic western medical treatment. The 45 patients in the control group were given non-standardized treatment with TCM combined with WM. They received an oral Chinese decoction for promotion of blood circulation to inhibit hemostasis, regardless of their TCM syndromes, along with basic western medical treatment. The treatments lasted for 4 weeks. Scores were evaluated on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, activity of daily life (ADL) scores, and TCM symptoms before treatment and 2 and 4 weeks after treatment.ResultsAnalysis of variance for repeated measurements showed that there were significant differences in NIHSS and ADL score before and after treatment in both groups (P<0.05). There were also significant differences between the scores at 2 and 4 weeks after treatment. There were significant differences in TCM syndrome scores before and after treatment in both groups (P<0.05). There were also significant differences between the scores at 2 and 4 weeks after treatment. The χ2 test showed no statistically significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups (P>0.05).ConclusionStandardized treatment was superior to non-standardized treatment for clinical efficacy of TCM combined with WM in patients with diabetic acute ischemic stroke, and the superiority was more obvious in improving neural dysfunction, ADL score, and TCM symptoms. The adverse reactions were similar in the two treatment groups.