Evidence-based practice guideline of Chinese herbal medicine for primary open-angle glaucoma (qingfeng -neizhang).

Background: Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) is a chronic, progressive optic neuropathy. The aim was to develop an evidence-based clinical practice guideline of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) for POAG with focus on Chinese medicine pattern differentiation and treatment as well as approved herbal proprietary medicine.

Methods: The guideline development group involved in various pieces of expertise in contents and methods. Authors searched electronic databases include CNKI, VIP, Sino-Med, Wanfang data, PubMed, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, as well as checked China State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) from the inception of these databases to June 30, 2015. Systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials of Chinese herbal medicine treating adults with POAG were evaluated. Risk of bias tool in the Cochrane Handbook and evidence strength developed by the GRADE group were applied for the evaluation, and recommendations were based on the findings incorporating evidence strength. After several rounds of Expert consensus, the final guideline was endorsed by relevant professional committees.

Results: CHM treatment principle and formulae based on pattern differentiation together with approved patent herbal medicines are the main treatments for POAG, and the diagnosis and treatment focusing on blood related patterns is the major domain.

Conclusion: CHM therapy alone or combined with other conventional treatment reported in clinical studies together with Expert consensus were recommended for clinical practice.