# The efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine sequential therapy in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

## TL;DR

This study shows that adding traditional Chinese medicine sequential therapy to routine care improves outcomes for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease patients.

## Contribution

Demonstrates the added benefits of TCM sequential therapy over conventional management for NAFLD.

## Key findings

- TCM group showed better improvements in blood lipid and liver function indicators than the control group.
- Quality of life scores increased more in the TCM group compared to the control group.
- Overall treatment efficacy was higher in the TCM group (94.23%) than in the control group (79.17%).

## Abstract

Sequential therapy in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) refers to a combination of internal and external treatment methods in a certain order based on syndrome differentiation and therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of TCM sequential therapy that is given on the basis of conventional management in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Medical records of one hundred NAFLD patients who received treatment at Zhejiang Provincial Tongde Hospital between February 2023 and April 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. Of them, 48 patients received routine intervention (Control group), and 52 patients were additionally treated by sequential TCM therapy (TCM group). The levels of blood lipid indicators, liver function indicators, TCM syndrome efficacy, and quality of life (QOL) scores were compared between the two groups before and after the intervention.

After the intervention, the levels of blood lipid and liver function indicators in both groups were significantly improved compared to preintervention and were considerably better in the TCM compared to the Control group (P<0.05). The overall efficacy was higher in the TCM group (94.23%) compared to the Control group (79.17%) (P<0.05). After the intervention, the QOL scores of both groups increased and were significantly higher in the TCM group than in the Control group (P<0.05).

For NAFLD patients, adopting TCM sequential therapy in addition to the routine disease management strategies can effectively regulate patients’ blood lipid levels, restore liver function, improve disease treatment effectiveness, and improve the quality of life.