Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has become a significant public health challenge due to high prevalence, multiple risk factors, and poor prognosis. While western medicine offers effective treatment for CKD, it is often associated with substantial side effects and limited efficacy in delaying disease progression. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and specifically its herbal preparations, offer a potentially valuable adjunct therapy. These preparations boast demonstrable efficacy, controllable quality, and high safety profiles. Combining TCM with western medicine may further improve symptoms and slow CKD progression, yet a lack of robust evidence-based guidelines hinders clinical application. Therefore, the Nephropathy TCM Development Research Professional Committee of the China Association of Chinese Medicine, in collaboration with the Standardization Project Group of the “Clinical Application Guidelines for TCM in Advantageous Disease Categories”, established a multidisciplinary guideline development team. Strictly adhering to the principle of “evidence-based medicine as the primary basis, consensus as a supplement, and experience as a reference”, this guideline provides recommendations categorized by drug type to address defined clinical questions. The aim is to provide nephrologists and other clinicians with evidence-based guidance on the use of TCM in the treatment of CKD stages 1-3.

Copyright © the editorial department of Chinese Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine of West China Medical Publisher. All rights reserved