Evidence-based Clinical Chinese Medicine

Evidence-based Clinical Chinese Medicine provides a "whole evidence" analysis of the Chinese medicine management of herpes zoster and post-herpetic neuralgia. Evidence from the classical Chinese medicine literature, contemporary clinical literature, the outcomes of clinical trials and experimental studies are reviewed, analysed and synthesised. The data from all these sources are condensed to provide evidence-based statements which will inform clinical practice and guide future research. This book has been designed to be an easy reference at the point of care. During a patient consultation, Chinese medicine practitioners can refer to this book for guidance on which Chinese herbal medicine formulas, specific herbs, or acupuncture points, can best treat their patient, and be confident there is evidence which supports its use. Currently, Chinese medicine practitioners who develop a special interest in a particular health condition such as herpes zoster and its common sequelae post-herpetic neuralgia have to consult a variety of sources to further their knowledge. Typically, they use the contemporary clinical literature to understand the theory, aetiology, pathogenesis and obtain expert opinions on the Chinese medicine management of herpes zoster and post-herpetic neuralgia. They search the electronic literature to identify systematic reviews of clinical trials, if any exist, to obtain assessments of the current state of the clinical evidence for particular interventions. If they have the skills and resources, they may search the classical Chinese medicine literature for an historical perspective on treatments that have stood the test of time. This book provides all of this information for practitioners in one handy, easy to use reference. This allows practitioners to focus on their job of providing high quality health care, with the knowledge it is based on the best available evidence. Contents: Introduction to Herpes Zoster Herpes Zoster in Chinese Medicine Classical Chinese Medicine Literature Methods for Evaluating Clinical Evidence — Herpes Zoster Clinical Evidence for Chinese Herbal Medicine — Herpes Zoster Pharmacological Actions of Frequently Used Herbs — Herpes Zoster Clinical Evidence for Acupuncture and Related Therapies — Herpes Zoster Clinical Evidence for Combination Therapies — Herpes Zoster Summary and Conclusions — Herpes Zoster Introduction to Post-herpetic Neuralgia Post-herpetic Neuralgia in Chinese Medicine Methods for Evaluating Clinical Evidence — Post-herpetic Neuralgia Clinical Evidence for Chinese Herbal Medicine — Post-herpetic Neuralgia Pharmacological Actions of Common Herbs — Post-herpetic Neuralgia Clinical Evidence for Acupuncture and Related Therapies — Post-herpetic Neuralgia Clinical Evidence for Combination Therapies — Post-herpetic Neuralgia Summary and Conclusions — Post-herpetic Neuralgia Readership: Chinese medicine practitioners and researchers, undergraduate and postgraduate Chinese medicine students, other health science students with interest in Chinese medicine. Key Features: The inclusion of classical Chinese medicine literature, comprehensively reviewed using systematic methods, provides the readers with a history of changes in terminology and treatment approaches from pre Tang dynasty (before 618 AD) to modern times. Rigorous processes have been developed to ensure consistency of the search, extraction and synthesis of data from the classical literature into the body of evidence for herpes zoster. Systematic reviews of the clinical trial evidence and clinical practice guidelines tend to limit the evidence to that derived from randomised controlled trials. The books in this series take a broader view by including evaluations of controlled clinical trials and non-controlled studies, such as case series studies, in order to include the full scope of clinical studies and provide a clear insight into which Chinese medicine interventions have received clinical research attention This...