| Study |
Method | Participants | Intervention | Outcomes |
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Cheng et al. 2006 [19] | Randomized Control Trial | Treatment group Number: 50, male/female: 39/11 Age range: mean 8.7 ± 1.5 Control group Number: 50, male/female: 40/10 Age range: mean 8.9 ± 1.4 Country: China Diagnostic criteria: DSM-IV Baseline characteristic: not described | Treatment group Yizhiyidong decoction 30 mL each time, 3 times a day for 12 weeks Control group Ritalin 5 mg–10 mg each time, twice a day for 12 weeks | The study defined treatment effect as follows: (i) Showing effectiveness—disappearance of symptoms, Conners index decrease ≥80%: treatment/control: 16/23 (ii) Showing improvement—improvement of symptoms, Conners index decrease 80%–50%: treatment/control: 21/18 (iii) Ineffective—no improvement or worsening in core symptoms, Conners index and studying: treatment/control: 13/9 |
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Kong et al. 2007 [20] | Randomized Control Trial | Treatment group Number: 60, male/female: 44/16 Age range: mean 8.4 ± 1.42 Control group Number: 60, male/female: 48/12 Age range: mean 8.40 ± 1.40 Country: China Diagnostic criteria: DSM-IV Baseline characteristic: homogeneity for gender, age, and IQ | Treatment group Qijudihuang pill, 3 pills, 3 times a day for 3 months Control group Ritalin starting from 5mg and adjusted to 10 mg–20 mg for 3 months | There was no significant difference of treatment effectiveness between treatment group and control group. Followup 6 months and 12 months after treatment indicated that treatment had significantly more sustainable effect than control, and statistics showed that treatment group has significantly less side effects compared to control group. |
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Lai and Li 2006 [21] | Randomized Control Trial | Treatment/control: 21/19 Male/female: 24/16 Age range: 6–14 (mean 8.437 ± 2.061) Country: China Diagnostic criteria: DSM-IV Baseline characteristic: homogeneity for gender, age, and course of disease | Treatment group Oriental herbal medicine decoction 150 mL a day, 5 days a week for 8 weeks Control group Ritalin 0.3–0.5 mg/kg a day, 5 days a week for 8 weeks | The study defined treatment effect as follows: (i) Recovery—disappearance of core symptoms, Conners index decrease >80%, obvious improvement in studying, effectiveness sustains after stopping medication for 6 months: treatment/control: 2/1 (ii) Showing effectiveness—obvious alleviation of core symptoms, Conners index decrease >50%, improvement in studying: treatment/control: 10/9 (iii) Showing improvement—improvement of core symptoms, Conners index decrease >30%, improvement in studying but not stable: treatment/control: 7/6 (iv) Ineffective—no improvement or worsening in core symptoms, Conners index and studying: treatment/control: 3/3 |
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Li and Chen 1999 [22] | Randomized Control Trial | Treatment group Number: 37, male/female: 37/0 Age range: mean 10.7 ± 4.2 Control group Number: 33, male/female: 33/0 Age range: mean 10.3 ± 3.9 Country: China Diagnostic criteria: DSM-IV and Conners Rating Scale Baseline characteristic: Homogeneity for gender, age, course of disease, and IQ | Treatment group Duodongning granule 3 g for age <8, 6 g for age ≥8 daily with placebo that resembles Ritalin, 1 tablet each day, 6 days a week for 4 weeks Control group Ritalin 10 mg daily, with placebo that resembles Duodongning granule and same dosage as treatment group, 6 days a week for 4 weeks | The study defined treatment effect as follows: (i) Showing effectiveness—disappearance of core symptoms, Conners index <1.2, obvious improvement in studying, normal social function: treatment/control: 17/15 (ii) Showing improvement—improvement of core symptoms, Conners index decrease but still >1.5, improvement in studying and social function but not stable: treatment/control: 16/14 (iii) Ineffective—no evident improvement in core symptoms, Conners index, studying, and social function: treatment/control: 4/4 3 subjects in treatment group reported mild loss of appetite, while 7 subjects in control group reported evident loss of appetite and 1 subject reported sleeplessness. |
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Li et al. 2004 [23] | Randomized Control Trial | Treatment/control: 58/48 Male/female: 84/22 Age range: 7–15 Country: China Diagnostic criteria: DSM-IV Baseline characteristic: Homogeneity for age, gender, and course of disease There were 114 subjects originally, 3 excluded and 5 attrited. 4 were attrited due to adverse effect caused by methylphenidate but attrition/exclusion reason for other subjects was not indicated. | Treatment group Yizhiningshen granules 1 dose for age 7–10, 2 doses for age 10–15, twice a day for 6 weeks Control group Ritalin 5 mg per day for age 7–8, 10 mg per days for age 8–15, twice a day, 5 days a week for 6 weeks | The study defined treatment effect as follows: (i) Recovery—disappearance of core symptoms, Conners index decrease >80%, obvious improvement in studying, effectiveness sustains after stopping medication for 6 months, Chinese medicine therapeutic index ≥90%: treatment/control: 6/2 (ii) Showing effectiveness—obvious alleviation of core symptoms, Conners index decrease ≤80% and >50%, improvement in studying, Chinese medicine therapeutic index <90% and ≥60%: treatment/control: 20/18 (iii) Showing improvement—improvement of core symptoms, Conners index decrease ≤50% and >30%, improvement in studying but not stable, Chinese medicine therapeutic index <60% and ≥10%: treatment/control: 26/22 (iv) Ineffective—no improvement or worsening in core symptoms and studying, Conners index decrease ≤30%, Chinese medicine therapeutic index <10%: treatment/control: 6/6 |
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Lin et al.2007 [24] | Randomized Control Trial | Treatment group Number: 40, male/female: 32/8 Age range: 6.5–13, mean 8.7 ± 2.7 Control group 1 (Ritalin) Number: 40, male/female: 31/9 Age range: 7–12, mean 8.5 ± 2.5 Control group 2 (treatment + Ritalin) Number: 40, male/female: 32/8 Age range: 7–11, mean 8.2 ± 2.1 Country: China Diagnostic criteria: DSM-IV Baseline characteristic: Homogeneity for gender, age, and course of disease | Treatment group Ningshen oral liquid 30–60 mL per day for 12 weeks Control group 1 Ritalin 5 mg–40 mg per day for 12 weeks Control group 2 Ningshen oral liquid 30–60 mL plus Ritalin 5 mg–40 mg per day for 12 weeks | The study defined treatment effect as follows: (i) Near recovery—disappearance of core symptoms, Conners index decrease >80%, obvious improvement in studying: treatment/control 1/control 2: 4/3/7 (ii) Showing effectiveness—obvious alleviation of core symptoms, Conners index decrease ≤80% and >50%, improvement in studying: treatment/control 1/control 2: 7/7/10 (iii) Showing improvement—improvement of core symptoms, Conners index decrease ≤50% and >30%, improvement in studying but not stable: treatment/control 1/control 2: 16/19/17 (iv) Ineffective—no improvement or worsening in core symptoms and studying, Conners index decrease ≤30%: treatment/control 1/control 2: 13/11/6 Assessment of Conners index 12 weeks after stopping medication reported that there was significant drop in effectiveness in Ritalin control group but not in treatment group and combined treatment group. |
| Ma 2007 [16] | Randomized Control Trial | Treatment group Number: 22, male/female: 15/7 Control group Number: 20, male/female: 20/16 Age range: 6–13 Country: China Diagnostic criteria: DSM-IV Baseline characteristic: not described There were originally 49 subjects in the study and 7 cases were attrited, but there was no indication of whether they belonged to treatment group and control group. Reasons for attrition were also not sufficiently presented | Treatment group Duodongting decoction 150 mL each time for age 4–7, 200 mL each time for age 8–12, twice a day for 28 days, and break for 2 days (1 treatment cycle) before starting another treatment cycle, for 2 cycles + behavioral therapy Control group Ritalin 0.45 mg/kg for 28 days and break for 2 days (1 treatment cycle) before starting another treatment cycle, for 2 cycles + behavioral therapy | The study defined treatment effect as follows: (i) Showing effectiveness—hyperactivity, and inattention alleviated by 2/3: treatment/control: 7/6 (ii) Showing improvement—obvious symptomatic improvement, hyperactivity and inattention alleviated by 1/2: treatment/control: 11/10 (iii) Ineffective—no symptomatic relief after 2 treatment cycles treatment/control: 4/4 |
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Ma et al. 2007 [25] | Randomized Control Trial | Treatment group/control group-Chinese medicine/control group-Ritalin: 55/53/51 Country: China Diagnostic criteria: DSM-IV Baseline characteristic: homogeneity for age, gender, and course of disease Attrition criteria was mentioned but there was no indication if any subject was attrited because initial number of subjects randomized was not stated | Treatment group YIzhiningshen granules 10 g each time for age 6–10, 15 g each time for age 11–18, twice a day for 24 weeks Control group 1-Chinese medicine Jingning oral liquid 10 mL each time, twice a day, 5 days per week for 24 weeks Control group 2-Ritalin Ritalin 5 mg each time for age 6–8, and 10 mg each time for age 9–18, twice a day, 5 days per week for 24 weeks | The study defined treatment effect as follows: (i) Recovery—disappearance of core symptoms, Conners index decrease >80%, obvious improvement in studying and social function, Chinese medicine therapeutic index ≥90%: treatment/control 1/control 2: 6/3/3 (ii) Showing effectiveness—obvious alleviation of core symptoms, Conners index decrease ≤80% and >50%, improvement in studying and social function, Chinese medicine therapeutic index <90% and ≥60%: treatment/control 1/control 2: 29/18/19 (iii) Showing improvement—improvement of core symptoms, Conners index decrease ≤50% and >30%, improvement in studying but not stable, Chinese medicine therapeutic index <60% and ≥10%: treatment/control 1/control 2: 15/27/22 (iv) Ineffective—no improvement or worsening in core symptoms and studying, Conners index decrease ≤30%, Chinese medicine therapeutic index <10%: treatment/control 1/control 2: 5/5/7 |
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Wang and Shi 2003 [26] | Randomized Control Trial | Treatment group Number: 58, male/female: 49/9 Age range: mean 9.3 ± 2.9 Control group Number: 50, male/female: 42/8 Age range: mean 9.5 ± 3.2 Country: China Diagnostic criteria: DSM-IV and Conners index >1.5 Baseline characteristic: homogeneity for age, gender, course of disease, and IQ | Treatment group Jingning oral liquid 10 mL each time, twice a day for 4 weeks Control group Ritalin 10 mg in the morning and 5 mg at night for 4 weeks | The study defined treatment effect as follows: (i) Showing effectiveness—disappearance of symptoms, obvious improvement in social function and studying, Conners index < 1.2: treatment/control: 27/23 (ii) Showing improvement—improvement of symptoms, improvement in social function and studying but improvement not stable, decrease in Conners index but still >1.5: treatment/control: 26/22 (iii) Ineffective—no improvement or worsening in symptoms, Conners index and studying: treatment/control: 5/5 No side effects observed in treatment group but 10 subjects in control group reported nausea and loss in appetite, 2 subjects reported dizziness, and 1 subject reported sleeplessness. |
| Xu 2005 [27] | Randomized Control Trial | Treatment group Number: 100, male/female: 87/13 Age range: mean 9.3 ± 2.4 Control group Number: 50, male/female: 43/7 Age range: mean 9.1 ± 2.3 Country: China Diagnostic criteria: DSM-IV criteria of combined type ADHD Baseline characteristic: homogeneity for age, gender, course of disease, and IQ | Treatment group Jingningzhidong granules 1 g/kg/day, maximum 50 g, for 12 weeks Control group Ritalin 0.3 mg/kg/day, increase dosage gradually to maximum 0.6 mg/kg/day, for 12 weeks | The study defined treatment effect as follows: (i) Showing effectiveness—decrease in Conners index by ≥66%: treatment/control: 56/26 (ii) Showing improvement—decrease in Conners index ≥33% and <66%: treatment/control: 22/14 (iii) Ineffective—decrease in Conners index < 33%: treatment/control: 22/10 There was almost no side effect reported in treatment group but subjects in control group reported more obvious and persistent side effects. Assessment of Conners index 4 weeks after stopping medication reported that there was significant drop in effectiveness in control group but not in treatment group. |
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L. Yang and J. Yang 2005 [28] | Randomized Control Trial | Treatment group Number: 48, male/female: 40/8 Age range: 6–12 (mean 8.3) Control group Number: 38, male/female: 31/7 Age range: 6.5–13 (mean 8.6) Country: China Diagnostic criteria: DSM-IV Baseline characteristic: Homogeneity for gender, age, course of disease, and coexisting symptoms | Treatment group Yizhiningshen oral liquid 2 × 10 mL, 3 times a day for 3 months + behavioral therapy Control group Ritalin 10 mg, once per day for 3 months, no medication during weekend and holiday + behavioral therapy | The study defined treatment effect as follows: (i) Recovery—disappearance of core symptoms, Conners index decrease >80%, obvious improvement in studying, effectiveness sustains after stopping medication for 6 months: treatment/control: 6/2 (ii) Showing effectiveness—obvious alleviation of core symptoms, Conners index decrease >50%, improvement in studying: treatment/control: 16/15 (iii) Showing improvement—improvement of core symptoms, Conners index decrease >30%, improvement in studying but not stable: treatment/control: 20/17 (iv) Ineffective—no improvement or worsening in core symptoms, Conners index and studying: treatment/control: 6/4 Treatment group showed improvements in co-existing symptoms such as loss in appetite, recurrent flu, but no evident improvement in control group. |
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Yu and Wang 2005 [29] | Randomized Control Trial | Treatment group Number: 68, male/female: 54/14 Age range: mean 9.1 ± 2.8 Control group Number: 20, male/female: 15/5 Age range: mean 9.3 ± 2.7 Country: China Diagnostic criteria: DSM-IV and Conners index > 1.5 Baseline characteristic: homogeneity for age, gender, and course of disease | Treatment group Jingning decoction one dose per day for 3 months Control group Ritalin 0.2–0.5 mg/kg/day for 3 months | The study defined treatment effect as follows: (i) Showing effectiveness—disappearance of symptoms, obvious improvement in social function and studying, Conners index < 1.2: treatment/control: 42/15 (ii) Showing improvement—improvement of symptoms, improvement in social function and studying but improvement not stable, decrease in Conners index but still >1.5: treatment/control: 19/3 (iii) Ineffective—no improvement in symptoms, Conners index and studying: treatment/control: 7/2 |
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