To explore the clinical efficacy of Danggui Sini Tang combined with methotrexate in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 120 patients who were diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis and as arthralgia by traditional Chinese medicine in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University from February 2020 to February 2022. Patients who were unable to communicate, had gouty arthritis or joint tuberculosis were excluded. According to different treatment methods, the patients were divided into the experimental group (n=60) and the control group (n=60). Both the two groups were treated with methotrexate, and the experimental group accepted Danggui Sini Tang aditionally. The clinical efficacy, laboratory indicators, and incidence of adverse reactions of the two groups of patients were compared. The measurement data were described as(±s) and analyzed by t test. The count data were described as [ n ( % ) ] and analyzed by chi square test.

The total effective rate in the experimental group was 95.0%, which was higher than that in the control group (χ²=9.412, P<0.05). After treatment, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) of the experimental group were (18.3±3.2) mm/h and (18.3±1.2) mg/L, respectively, which were lower than (30.2±4.3)mm/h and (18.3±1.2)mg/L of the control group, the difference was statistically significant (t=17.084, 30.787, both P<0.001). Serum interleukin (IL)-1 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the experimental group after treatment were lower than the control group (t=39.036, 22.102, both P <0.001); IL-10 was (6.98±0.24) ng/L, which was higher than(5.99±0.25)ng/L of the control group; the difference was statistically significant (t=22.128, P<0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups of patients (χ²=0.240, P>0.05).

The combination of Danggui Sini Tang and methotrexate in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis has ideal safety, and the inflammatory symptoms could be significantly improved, which is worth promoting in clinical practice.