Guidelines on common cold for traditional Chinese medicine based on pattern differentiation

This attempt to produce evidence-based guidelines for the treatment of the common cold with Chinese medicine used a systematic literature review together with expert consensus, which identified four patterns with associated herbal formulas: wind-cold exterior syndrome (Ganmaoqingre granule), wind-heat exterior syndrome (Yinqiaojiedu granule), summer-heat dampness exterior syndrome (Huoxiangzhengqi Wan) and wind-cold exterior syndrome with qi deficiency (Shensu Wan). However, the authors acknowledge that their research was not strictly evidence-based due to the lack of clinical studies. [Aug 2013]