Herbal medicine for COVID-19: An overview of systematic reviews and meta-analysis

Ref ID 839
First Author L. Ang
Journal PHYTOMEDICINE
Year Of Publishing 2022
URL https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S094471132200215X?via%3Dihub
Keywords Complimentary & Alternative
COVID
Low methodological quality
Problem(s) Inconclusive or lack of recommendations
Low methodological (AMSTAR) quality
Perpetuates citation of poor quality primary study data
Number of systematic reviews included 21
Summary of Findings From 21 systematic reviews of herbal medicine for COVID-19 indexed across PubMed, Embase, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, and Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials from inception up to October 20, 2021. The quality of the evidence was inadequate to provide solid and accurate judgments about the effectiveness of herbal medicine therapies for COVID-19. The outcomes of systematic reviews varied widely but are mainly focused on the overall effective rate and clinical symptoms. Sixteen systematic reviews assessed the adverse effects of herbal medicine interventions in treating COVID-19. Nine systematic reviews arrived at a clearly positive conclusion. Among 12 systematic reviews, the conclusions were neither positive nor negative. None of the systematic reviews drew negative conclusions. The methodological quality of primary studies was reported as poor in 14 systematic reviews and unclear in 5 systematic reviews. Only two systematic reviews reported high-quality primary studies.
Did the article find that the problem(s) led to qualitative changes in interpretation of the results? Not Applicable
Are the methods of the article described in enough detail to replicate the study? No