Huangqin Qingre Chubi Capsule is Associated with Reduced Risk of Readmission in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Real-World Retrospective Cohort Study

Abstract

Purpose

The therapeutic effects of Huangqin Qingre Chubi (HQC) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been documented. However, there is a lack of real-world clinical evidence supporting its efficacy.

Methods

Patients diagnosed with RA were recruited from the First Affiliated Hospital of the Anhui University of Chinese Medicine. Patient information was obtained from the hospital’s database. Propensity score matching (PSM), Kaplan–Meier curve, and Cox proportional hazards model were used to control confounding factors and analyze the factors influencing readmission. Association rule analysis and random walk evaluation models were used to evaluate the correlations among HQC treatment, inflammation indicators, and self-perception of patients (SPP) scale.

Results

After PSM, 3423 patients were enrolled, with 1142 in the HQC group and 2281 in the non-HQC group. The readmission risk of the HQC group was significantly lower than that of the non-HQC group. Combined univariate and multivariate analysis results revealed that risk factors for readmission were age >60 years, female sex, hypertension, chronic gastritis, and elevated levels of laboratory indices, including anticyclic citrullinated peptide and complement component 3 (C3) and C4. HQC, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and glucocorticoid therapy were protective factors for readmission. HQC treatment was closely associated with improvements in many factors, including erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, C3, rheumatoid factor levels, visual analog scale, depression self-assessment scale, and patient-reported activity index scores with RA.

Conclusion

HQC treatment can reduce the risk of readmission and significantly improve immune inflammatory indicators and SPP in patients with RA, with no risk of hepatorenal toxicity.

Keywords:

• Huangqin Qingre Chubi capsule
• traditional Chinese medicine
• rheumatoid arthritis
• readmission

Data Sharing Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Ethics Approval and Informed Consent

This research was reviewed and approved and exempted patients from the right of informed consent by the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine (registration number: 2022MCZQ01).

Author Contributions

All authors made a significant contribution to the work reported, whether that is in the conception, study design, execution, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation, or across all these areas; all authors took part in drafting, revising, or critically reviewing the article; gave final approval of the version to be published; have agreed on the journal to which the article has been submitted; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Nature Fund Program [No. 82274490, No. 82074373, No.81973655], Anhui Provincial Laboratory of Applied Basis and Development of Internal Medicine of Modern Traditional Chinese Medicine [No. 2016080503B041], Anhui Famous Traditional Chinese Medicine Liu Jian Studio Construction Project [Traditional Chinese Medicine Development Secret [2018] No. 11], Key Laboratory of Xin’an Ministry of Medical Education [No. 2020xayx10], and 2021 Anhui Province Major Difficult Diseases Collaborative Project of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine [Anhui Traditional Chinese Medicine Development Secret [2021] No. 70].