Xuan Bai Cheng Qi formula as an adjuvant treatment of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease of the syndrome type phlegm-heat obstructing the lungs: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial

Table 7 Pro-inflammatory biomarker changes in Xuan Bai Cheng Qi and control groups before and after 10 - day treatment

Biomarkers	XBCQ^a(n = 22)			Control^a(n = 16)			Treatment effect^d(95% CI; P- value)
	Day 1 (Baseline)	Day 10 (End)	Mean D^c	Day 1 (Baseline)	Day 10 (End)	Mean D
TNF - α (pg/mL)	20.34 (4.90)	4.92 (1.90)	-15.42 (4.88)	18.90 (3.61)	6.47 (1.56)	-12.43 (3.28)^c	-1.70 (-2.86, -0.54; .005)
IL - 2 (pg/mL)	129.72 (18.27)	53.50 (18.21)	-76.23 (25.21)	129.54 (28.70)	84.10 (11.01)	-45.43 (32.88)^c	-30.60 (-40.94, -20.25; < .001)
IL - 4 (pg/mL)	5.98 (1.49)	2.36 (0.56)	-3.61 (1.78)	6.15 (1.36)	3.38 (1.25)	-2.77 (1.70)^c	-1.02 (-1.65, -0.39; .002)
IL - 6 (pg/mL)	3.95 (0.80)	2.06 (0.53)	-1.89 (0.95)	3.81 (0.94)	2.76 (0.67)	-1.06 (0.48)^c	-0.74 (-1.20, -0.39; < .001)
IL - 8 (pg/mL)	18.33 (3.93)	9.09 (3.54)	-9.24 (6.11)	18.01 (4.17)	14.92 (3.86)	-3.08 (5.36)^b	-5.80 (-8.26, -3.34; < .001)
IL - 1β (pg/mL)	13.42 (2.12)	8.36 (1.02)	-7.89 (12.27)	12.86 (1.98)	9.23 (1.54)	-4.76 (8.97)^c	-0.94 (-1.78, -0.10; .029)

Abbreviations: CI confidence interval, IL - 1β interleukin - 1 beta, IL - 2 interleukin - 2, IL - 4 interleukin - 4, IL - 6 interleukin - 6, IL - 8 interleukin - 8, Mean D mean difference, TNF - α tumor necrosis factor alpha, XBCQ Xuan Bai Cheng Qi.
^aData presented as mean (SD).
^b P < .05.
^c P < .01: change between pre - treatment and post - treatment (within group difference by paired t - test).
^dCovariance analysis estimate with 95% confidence interval for difference.

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