The efficacy of Shenyankangfu tablets in combination with valsartan in diabetic nephropathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the most prevalent and critical microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus, constituting a significant contributor to end-stage renal disease. Shenyankangfu tablets (SYKFP) are a pure traditional Chinese medicine compound. Current studies have shown that SYKFP combined with valsartan in the treatment of DN had therapeutic advantages. However, there is still a lack of systematic research. Therefore, meta-analysis was used to systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of SYKFP combined with valsartan in treating DN and to provide evidence-based medical evidence for clinical application.

METHODS

CNKI, VIP, Wanfang, Chinese Biomedical Literature Service System, American Clinical Trial Registry, Embase, Web of Science, PubMed, and Cochrane Library databases were searched from the date of database establishment to August 2024. All randomized controlled trials of SYKFP in combination with valsartan for treating DN were collected, and the data of clinical trials that met the inclusion criteria were extracted. Meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.4 and Stata 17.0.

RESULTS

Sixty-nine pieces of literature were retrieved, and 14 eligible randomized controlled trials were selected, with 1281 participants. The results of the meta-analysis showed that compared with valsartan alone in the treatment of DN, Shenyanangfu tablets combined with valsartan can improve the clinical efficacy rate (relative risk = 1.16, 95% CI [1.11, 1.22], P < .00001) and reduce blood creatinine (mean difference [MD] = -28.79, 95% CI [-31.16, -26.42], P < .00001), urea nitrogen (MD = -1.37, 95% CI [-1.52, -1.22], P < .00001), 24-hour urine protein quantification (MD = -0.59, 95% CI [-0.77, -0.40], P < .00001), fasting blood glucose (MD = -0.51, 95% CI [-0.77, -0.25], P = .0001) and the incidence of adverse events (relative risk = 0.74, 95% CI [0.43, 1.23], P = .24) were better than valsartan alone, and the difference was statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

SYKFP combined with valsartan can improve the clinical treatment efficiency of DN. They can effectively reduce the occurrence of urea nitrogen, blood creatinine, 24-hour urine protein quantification, fasting blood glucose, and adverse events.