Is Traditional Chinese Medicine Effective in Treating Tic Disorders (Tourette Syndrome)? A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

INTRODUCTION: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a type of alternative medicine that has been widely utilized in the prevention and treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia, ADHD, Alzheimer disease, and Tourette syndrome (TS) in many countries. However, the results regarding TCM's effectiveness and safety in treating TS are conflicting. Therefore, the goal of the present study is to analyze and summarize the available literature related to the efficacy of TCM in the treatment of tic disorders, especially TS. METHODS: Relevant articles for the meta-analysis were searched using appropriate keywords from PubMed, MEDLINE, and CENTRAL databases. Event data for TCM for the treatment of TS in the control and intervention arms were determined from the randomized controlled trials, and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) and risk of bias analysis were performed. Meta-analysis was performed using MedCalc software, and suitable parameters to assess heterogeneity were computed. RESULTS: Twelve randomized clinical trials with a total of 1,681 TS patients were included as per the inclusion criteria. The patients' clinical symptoms were improved to a greater extent, and the pooled DOR of 1.311 with a 95% confidence interval (CI) value ranging from 0.804 to 2.139 and I2 value of 72.04% were obtained. The pooled relative risk was 1.09, with a 95% CI value ranging from 0.97 to 1.268. The data heterogeneity was assessed, and we achieved a Q value of 33.54, a p value of 0.0004, and I2 value of 67.21% with a 95% CI value of 32.91-82.10. All these values are statistically significant, with p < 0.005, and confirmed the effectiveness of TCM for TS patients. CONCLUSION: The present meta-analysis on account of these statistically significant results highly recommends using TCM to treat TS.