Effect of Yanghe Pingchuan granules combined with inhaled western medication on clinical efficacy and serum inflammatory cytokine levels in patients with kidney deficiency and phlegm-turbid-type COPD in the stable phase

To explore the effects of Yanghe Pingchuan granules combined with inhaled Western medication on the clinical efficacy and serum inflammatory cytokine levels in patients with kidney deficiency and phlegm-turbid-type chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the stable phase. Using the retrospective analysis method, we collected 108 patients with kidney deficiency and phlegm-turbid-type COPD in the stable phase admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2020 to December 2021, and divided them into a combined group and a control group according to medication method, with 56 cases in the combined group and 52 in the control group. In the control group, Budesonide and Formoterol Dry Powder Inhaler was given, and in the combined group, Yanghe Pingchuan granules were added on that basis, with a treatment course of 2 weeks. We compared the TCM syndrome score, post-treatment efficacy, pulmonary functions (forced expiratory volume in one second [FEV1], forced vital capacity [FVC], FEV1/FVC, distance of six-minute walking test [6MWT]), COPD assessment test (CAT) score, and changes in serum inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, LTB4) levels in the 2 groups. After treatment, the total effective rate of the combined group was 91%, significantly higher than that of the control group, which was 75% (P < .05). After the treatment, the TCM syndrome score, pulmonary functions (FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, 6MWT), CAT score, and changes in serum inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, LTB4) levels in the 2 groups decreased compared with those before treatment (P < .01), and all of the above indexes, except the pulmonary function FEV1/FVC ratio, in the combined group were better than those in the control group (P < .05). Yanghe Pingchuan granules combined with inhaled Western medication has better clinical efficacy than single inhaled Western medication in patients with kidney deficiency and phlegm-turbid-type COPD in the stable phase, by significantly improving clinical symptoms, enhancing the pulmonary functions, and reducing the inflammation level.