Clinical therapeutic effect of Chinese herbal medicine on blepharitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Blepharitis is a common chronic ocular inflammation on the surface of the eyelid margin, eyelash follicle, and glands. The objective of this study is to systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) in the treatment of blepharitis. Databases including PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, and VIP were searched from January 1st, 2000 to April 1st, 2024. Randomized controlled trials meeting the inclusion criteria of CHM for blepharitis. Two investigators independently screened the title, abstract, and full-text of studies, extracted data, and conducted the quality evaluation of included studies according to the Cochrane Handbook. R software version 4.3.0; (R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria) was used to conduct statistical analysis. A total of 12 eligible studies were included. The information of 816 patients with 1126 eyes was collected in both groups. Compared with the control group, the total effective rate of the CHM group is significantly higher (risk ratio = 1.29, 95% confidence interval: 1.20-1.38, P < .01). The tear breakup time (standardized mean difference = 0.65, 95% confidence interval: 0.65-1.11, Z = 2.79, P = .005) of the CHM group was also significantly improved compared with the control group. However, the difference in Schirmer I test was not significant between groups. In addition, no serious adverse reaction was reported in both groups. Conventional therapy combined with the CHM, mainly including fumigation, eye bathing, and wet compress, shows a better therapeutic effect on treating blepharitis compared with conventional therapy alone.