Traditional Chinese Medicine in Management of Childhood Asthma

Summary

Bronchial Asthma is a common childhood chronic disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the airways. Frequent relapse of asthma has serious impacts on the child's growth, impairs quality of life (QoL) and mortality, posing a huge economic burden on both family and society. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) principles and theory, the main reason for children suffering from asthma are congenital deficiencies at birth which were not corrected and/or lack of appropriate care in the early childhood, leading to insufficiency of the lung, spleen and kidney, resulting in susceptibility to external pathogenic factors. During the interval phase of the illness, wheezing is not prominent and the "Lung-Spleen Qi Deficiency" (LSQD) syndrome is most commonly seen. TCM treatment aims to strengthen the body's immune system by nourishing the spleen, replenishing "Qi"(vital energy), tonifying the lungs and strengthening the exterior, thereby reducing incidences of relapse and improve QoL. It is hypothesized that TCM has adjuvant roles in the management of mild-moderate childhood asthma. Hence the primary aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy of using herbal TCM as adjuvant therapy in the management of symptoms and QoL in asthmatic patients. A randomized, double-blind cross-sectional, 2-arms placebo-controlled study will be carried out. Pediatric patients with mild-moderate asthma identified with LSQD will be randomized to either control or treatment group. Study participants in control group will continue their conventional western medicine (CWM) while those in TCM group will consume a decoction of herbal TCM for 12-weeks in addition to their CWM. Pulmonary function tests, Asthma Control Test, QoL and TCM questionnaires will be used as outcome measurement tools. In addition, liver and kidneys functions will be monitored for signs of toxicity.

Conditions

• Asthma in Children

Interventions

OTHER

PLTG

A combination of 13 herbal granules

OTHER

Placebo

90% starch filler and 10% PLTG

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Singapore Thong Chai Medical Institution

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• KK Women's and Children's Hospital

  lead OTHER_GOV

Principal Investigators

• Oon Hoe Teoh, MBBS · KK Women's and Children's Hospital

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

QUADRUPLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

6 Years

Max Age

16 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2018-10-15

Primary Completion

2021-03-31

Completion

2021-09-30

Countries

• Singapore

Study Locations