Clinical efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine combined with Western medicine in the treatment of persistent human papillomavirus infection in patients with infertility

Objective: To investigate the clinical efficacy of Fuzheng Jiedu formula combined with interferon in the treatment of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in patients with infertility. Methods: A total of 750 infertile patients with persistent HPV infection were randomly divided into Group A ( n = 240, interferon), Group B ( n = 260, Fuzheng Jiedu formula), and Group C ( n = 250, interferon + Fuzheng Jiedu formula). The traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) symptoms, efficacy, immune function, and HPV conversion were compared among the three groups, and statistical analysis was conducted on the data before and after treatment among the three groups, including TCM symptom score, total efficacy, CD3 + , CD4 + , CD8 + , CD4 + /CD8 + levels, and HPV-DNA conversion rate. Results: The total efficacies of Group A, Group B, and Group C were 89.58%, 62.50%, and 98.00%, respectively; the conversion rates of HPV-DNA in Group A, Group B, and Group C were 62.50%, 67.31%, and 90.00%, respectively. The TCM symptom score of the three groups was most significantly reduced in Group C, followed by Group B, and there was a statistical difference between the groups ( P <0.05). The efficacy of the three groups was highest in Group C, followed by Group A, and Group B, with statistical differences ( P <0.05). A pairwise comparison of the HPV conversion rates of the three groups showed that Group C had the highest HPV conversion rate ( P <0.05); HPV16 and HPV18 subtypes displayed high conversion rates among the different HPV subtypes ( P <0.05), whereas the comparisons between the remaining subtypes showed no statistically significant differences ( P >0.05). CD3 + , CD4 + , and CD4 + /CD8 + levels showed an increasing trend in the three groups after treatment, whereas the CD8 + level decreased ( P <0.05). Pairwise comparison showed that CD3 + , CD4 + , and CD4 + /CD8 + levels were more elevated in Group C than those in Groups A and B ( P <0.05). Conclusion: Fuzheng Jiedu formula notably improves the efficacy of HPV persistent infection and HPV conversion rate in patients with infertility, and its efficacy is better than that of TCM and Western medicine alone. The mechanism is mainly related to the fact that TCM improves the symptom score of syndromes of spleen asthenia and dampness encumbrance and increases CD3 + , CD4 + , CD4 + /CD8 + levels. The effect of combined therapy on improving immunity is more advantageous than that of TCM or Western medicine alone.