Clinical efficacy of Qinggan Huashi Huoxue decoction combined with liver-protecting and enzyme-lowering drugs in treatment of alcoholic liver disease

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of Qinggan Huashi Huoxue decoction combined with liver- protecting and enzyme- lowering drugs in the treatment of alcoholic liver disease( ALD). Methods A total of 175 ALD patients who were admitted to The Second People's Hospital of Tangshan from January 2012 to December 2015 were enrolled and randomly divided into treatment group( 87patients) and control group( 88 patients). The patients in the control group were asked to quit smoking and were given nutritional support and medications including polyene phosphatidylcholine,reduced glutathione,magnesium isoglycyrrhizinate,and ursodeoxycholic acid capsules,and those in the treatment group were given the self- made traditional Chinese medicine Qinggan Huashi Huoxue decoction in addition to the therapeutic regimen for the control group. During the three courses of treatment( 12 weeks),the patients' clinical symptoms and signs were observed,liver function [alanine aminotransferase( ALT),aspartate aminotransferase( AST),gamma- glutamyl transpeptidase( GGT),albumin( Alb),and total bilirubin( TBil) ]and blood lipids [total cholesterol( TC),triglyceride( TG),high- density lipoprotein( HDL),and low- density lipoprotein( LDL) ] were performed regularly,the results of routine blood tests and abdominal ultrasound findings were recorded regularly,and adverse events which occurred during treatment were recorded. The independent samples t- test was used for comparison of continuous data between groups,an analysis of variance with repeated measures was used to compare the differences at each time point between the two groups,and the chi- square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. Results After treatment,all patients achieved varying degrees of improvements in clinical symptoms and signs,which showed significant differences between the two groups at weeks 4,8,and 12 of treatment( t = 14. 390,10. 487,and 13. 547,all P < 0. 05). The liver function parameters in the two groups showed varying degrees of improvements at weeks 4,8,and 12 of treatment,and ALT,AST,and GGT showed significant differences between the two groups at weeks 4,8,and 12 of treatment( F = 21. 050,8. 108,and 12. 038,all P < 0. 01). In the control group,HDL showed a significant change after treatment( t = 3. 101,P < 0. 05),and in the treatment group,HDL and LDL showed significant changes after treatment( t = 6. 818 and 2. 532,both P < 0. 05). After treatment,HDL showed a significant difference between the two groups( t = 2. 784,P < 0. 05). The overall response rate also showed a significant difference between the control group and the treatment group( 53. 4% vs 82. 8%,χ2= 28. 74,P < 0. 001). No patient experienced significant adverse events during treatment. Conclusion Qinggan Huashi Huoxue decoction combined with liver- protecting and enzyme- lowering drugs can improve the clinical outcome of ALD patients and holds promise for clinical application.