Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this review is to ascertain whether Bojungikgi-tang and its modifications is more effective than non-specific management in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Methods: We collected clinical trials to investigate the effects of Bojungikgi-tang and non-specific management on general symptoms, fatigue, and sleep quality in CFS patients. The databases used for data retrieval were Pubmed, Central Cochrane, CNKI, VIP, CiNii, OASIS, RISS, and Koreamed. We performed selection/exclusion process from the found records according to prespecified criteria, and assessed the final included trials according to the Cochrane risk of bias tool. The included studies were classified on the basis of interventions in experimental group. Results: Seven randomized controlled trials (476 participants) were eligible and their results were synthesized in the meta-analysis. The synthesis showed a substantial effect of Bojungikgi-tang (relative risk 0.20 [95% CI 0.13 to 0.31], Z=7.44, P<0.00001; I2=0%) and combination of Bojungikgi-tang and Sosiho-tang (relative risk 0.15 [95% CI 0.08 to 0.28], Z=5.85, P<0.00001; I2=0%) compared with non-specific management on improvement of general symptoms. However, we could not find sufficient clinical research records to determine their effects of improvement on fatigue and sleep quality. Conclusions: Bojungikgi-tang and its modifications are more effective than non-specific management for improvement of general symptoms in CFS post-treatment.