Introduction. Oxymatrine (OMTR) is widely used for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in China. Several recent reports revealed that OMTR together with interferon yielded a higher sustained virological response (SVR) than interferon alone.
Aim: To elucidate this topic using meta-analysis of data from published randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
Material and methods: The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, Science Citation Index, EMBASE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database and China Biomedical Database were searched to identify RCTs that evaluated SVR to interferón therapies and interferon plus OMTR therapies in CHB patients.
Results: The literature search yielded 238 studies, and 11 RCTs comprising 968 patients matched the selection criteria. Overall, SVR was significantly higher in patients treated with interferon plus OMTR than in patients treated with interferon alone (SVR: 60.7 vs. 39.8%; relative risk: 1.56; 95% confidence interval: 1.37-1.77; p < 0.05). Combined therapy of interferon plus OMTR were also superior to interferon therapies alone in achieving the endof-treatment viral response, alaninetransaminase normalization, HBeAg loss, and HBeAg seroconversion.
Conclusions: Combined therapy of interferon plus OMTR may yield a higher SVR than interferon therapies. The exact outcome needs to perform rigorously designed, multicenter, and large randomized controlled trials.