A Review of the Progress of Clinical Research on Chinese Medicine for the Treatment of Childhood Asthma

Abstract

Childhood asthma is a common chronic respiratory disease, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has demonstrated unique advantages in its treatment. This paper reviews the progress of clinical research on the treatment of childhood asthma with traditional Chinese medicine in recent years, including staging, internal and external combined treatment, mechanism of action, and combination of Chinese and Western medicine. Studies have shown that the staged treatment of Chinese medicine (promoting the lungs and calming asthma during exacerbation, strengthening the spleen and benefiting the kidneys during remission) can significantly increase the asthma control rate and improve lung function; the combination of internal and external treatments, such as acupoints, acupuncture and moxibustion, can enhance the therapeutic effect; modern pharmacological studies have revealed that Chinese medicines can play a role in adjusting the balance of Th1/Th2, inhibiting the TRPV1 channel and lowering the inflammatory factors; and the combination of Chinese and Western medicines can increase the therapeutic effect and reduce the amount of Western medicines at the same time. The combination of Chinese and Western medicine can improve the efficacy of treatment while reducing the amount of Western medicine and adverse effects. In the future, further high-quality clinical studies should be conducted to optimize the treatment protocols of TCM, so as to promote the standardized use of TCM in the prevention and treatment of childhood asthma.