Objective To assess the effectiveness and safety of Tongxinluo Capsule in the treatment of vertebrobasilar artery insufficiency. Methods The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, VIP and CNKI were searched. Two authors independently collected data, including randomized controlled trials that met the inclusion criteria. They evaluated the quality of these trials and performed meta-analysis using The Cochrane Collaboration’s RevMan 5.0. Results Eleven studies involving 1157 participants were included. All the included studies were inadequate at reporting randomization, concealment of allocation and blinding. Meta-analysis based on the included studies showed that Tongxinluo Capsule with Danshen was better than Danshen alone in vertebrobasilar artery insufficiency (RR= 1.35, 95%CI 1.24 to 1.48) and blood flow velocity of vertebrobasilar artery (WMD=3.60, 95%CI 2.44 to 4.77 and WMD=3.46, 95%CI 1.89 to 5.04). Tongxinluo Capsule with simple basic therapy was better than simple basic therapy alone in vertebrobasilar artery insufficiency (RR=1.21, 95%CI 1.11 to 1.31) and blood flow velocity of vertebrobasilar artery (WMD=3.85, 95%CI 2.19 to 5.51). Conclusion Tongxinluo Capsule is an effective and safe drug for vertebrobasilar artery insufficiency. However, due to the limited quantity and quality of the included studies, we can not draw a firm conclusion about the effectiveness of Tongxinluo Capsule compared to the simple basic therapy or Danshen. The results suggest that further and larger-scale trials using Tongxinluo Capsule for vertebrobasilar artery insufficiency are needed.
