Xiao Chai Hu Tang for Peptic Ulcers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Table 3

Assessment of the study quality using GRADE (XCHT compared to CPT).

Outcomes	Illustrative comparative risks (95% CI)		Relative effect (95% CI)	No of participants (studies)	Quality of the evidence (GRADE)
	The assumed risk with the comparator	The corresponding risk with intervention
Total effective rate	781 per 1000	937 per 1000 (843 to 1000)	RR 1.2 (1.08 to 1.34)	638 (5 studies)	⊕⊕⊕⊕ high
Adverse events	150 per 1000	68 per 1000 (11 to 465)	RR 0.45 (0.07 to 3.1)	160 (2 studies)	⊕⊕⊕⊝ moderate
Recurrence rate	174 per 1000	40 per 1000 (12 to 120)	RR 0.23 (0.07 to 0.69)	172 (2 studies)	⊕⊕⊕⊕ high
Vomiting	245 per 1000	81 per 1000 (47 to 135)	RR 0.33 (0.19 to 0.55)	400 (3 studies)	⊕⊕⊝⊝ low
Stomachache	165 per 1000	59 per 1000 (31 to 112)	RR 0.36 (0.19 to 0.68)	400 (3 studies)	⊕⊕⊝⊝ low
Acid reflux	165 per 1000	125 per 1000 (78 to 203)	RR 0.76 (0.47 to 1.23)	400 (3 studies)	⊕⊕⊝⊝ low
Abdominal distension	205 per 1000	125 per 1000 (80 to 197)	RR 0.61 (0.39 to 0.96)	400 (3 studies)	⊕⊕⊝⊝ low
Appetite loss	200 per 1000	60 per 1000 (30 to 122)	RR 0.3 (0.15 to 0.61)	300 (2 studies)	⊕⊕⊝⊝ low

^∗The control risk is based on the median risk of the control group of each study. The intervention risk (and its 95% CI) is based on the control risk in the control group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI).CI: confidence interval, RR: risk ratio. GRADE Working Group grades of evidence: (1) High certainty: we are very confident that the true effect lies close to that of the estimate of the effect; (2) Moderate certainty: we are moderately confident in the effect estimate. The true effect is likely to be close to the estimate of the effect, but there is a possibility that it is substantially different; (3) Low certainty: our confidence in the effect estimate is limited. The true effect may be substantially different from the estimate of the effect; (4) Very low certainty: we have very little confidence in the effect estimate. ^⊕⊕⊕⊕ represents high-quality evidence; ^⊕⊕⊕⊝ represents moderate-quality evidence; ^⊕⊕⊖⊖ represents low-quality evidence.