Evidence-based therapies of Chinese medicine for chronic urticaria: Where do we stand and where are we going?

Chronic urticaria (CU) is characterized by repeated occurrence of wheals or itching for more than 6 weeks. When urticaria symptoms repeatedly occur despite taking Western medicines such as antihistamines, Chinese medicine (CM) has been shown to relieve symptoms and prevent recurrence. However, the lack of robust evidence from the evidence-based medicine perspective is hindering acceptance of CM by the Western medicine community. In recent years, more and more evidence-based studies of CU treatment by CM were report in English literatures, including acupuncture, herbs, and food, although some of evidence is still with low quality. These progress in CM treatment of CU will inspire high quality evidences via randomized, controlled trials assessing effificacy and safety of CM treatment of CU.