Efficacy of traditional Chinese Medicine-based biological extracts in the treatment of oral lichen planus.

OBJECTIVE

Our network meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the efficacy of traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM)-based biological extracts treatment for patients with oral lichen planus (OLP).

METHODS

A systematic search of PubMed, Embase and Web of Science was conducted to identify randomized controlled trials evaluating the efficacy of TCM-based biological extracts in treating OLP. A network meta-analysis was then performed on the eligible trials, and the TCM-based biological extracts were ranked based on their effectiveness in OLP treatment using the Surface Under the Cumulative Ranking (SUCRA) scores.

RESULTS

In total, 22 articles were included in the meta-analysis. Direct comparisons showed that TCM-based biological extracts treatment significantly reduced visual analog scale (VAS) scores in OLP patients with an MD of -0.86 (95% CI: -1.36 to -0.37, P < 0.01). Network meta-analysis shows chamomile, curcumin, echinacea, and honey were effective in reducing clinical scores. Meanwhile, chamomile, echinacea, and honey were significant in reducing VAS scores.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides strong evidence for the efficacy of TCM-based biological extracts in the treatment of OLP through network meta-analysis, and in particular, TCM-based biological extracts such as echinacea and honey demonstrated significant advantages in relieving pain and improving clinical symptoms.