The Effect of Sayeok-san for Insomnia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Objectives: This study evaluated the effectiveness of <i>Sayeok-san</i> for treating insomnia.Methods: We conducted a search using keywords, such as “Sayeoksan", “Si-ni-san", and “insomnia" in eight databases (CNKI, Wanfang, Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane, NDSL, OASIS, RISS) on July 17, 2012. There was no limit placed on the publication period of the papers, and we used Cochrane’s risk of bias tool to assess their quality. Meta-analysis was classified according to the outcome measurements, such as total effective rate and PSQI.Results: Nine RCTs were selected. Meta-analysis showed that the treatment group, which used <i>Sayeok-san</i>, had a higher total effective rate than did the control group that used only Western medicine. The treatment group also had a lower average of PSQI and TSS (TCM symptom score) than did the control group.Conclusion: This study suggests that <i>Sayeok-san</i> is effective in treating insomnia. However, these findings should be interpreted cautiously due to unknown or high risk of bias of the included trials.