Total flavonoids from Rhizoma Drynariae (Gusuibu) for treating osteoporotic fractures: implication in clinical practice

This systematic review was performed to determine the clinical efficacy and safety of total flavonoids from Rhizoma Drynariae (TFRD) for osteoporotic fractures and to provide clear evidence for clinical practice. Eight databases were searched to identify relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) until December 2016. Six RCTs involving 846 patients were included. The primary outcomes included fracture recurrence and death. Meta-analysis showed that both the combination therapy and TFRD alone were better than conventional treatments in improving bone mineral density (BMD) value (weighted mean difference [WMD] =3.68, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.01 to 0.04, =0.0002), (WMD =0.14; 95% CI: 0.11 to 0.16;