Objective  To observe the clinical effect of Yinqi Sanhuang Jiedu Decoction combined with conventional western medicine in treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis B differentiated as syndrome of dampness and heat in liver and gallbladder.

  Methods  Totally 94 patients with chronic hepatitis B differentiated as syndrome of dampness and heat in liver and gallbladder were randomly divided into two groups, with 47 cases in each group. The control group was treated with conventional western medicine, and the observation group was treated with Yinqi Sanhuang Jiedu Decoction on this basis of the control group. The clinical efficacy, scores of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes, cytokines, liver function indexes and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups.

  Results  The total effective rate of the observation group was 93.61%, which was significantly higher than 76.59% of the control group (P < 0.05). After treatment, the scores of the primary and secondary syndromes, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-4, total bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels in both groups decreased significantly, and these indexes in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). After treatment, the level of interleukin-2 in bothgroups significantly increased, and the level of interleukin-2 in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions was 6.38% in the control group and 8.51% in the observation group, and there was no significant difference between two groups (P>0.05).

  Conclusion  Yinqi Sanhuang Jiedu Decoction combined with conventional western medicine is effective in treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis B differentiated as syndrome of dampness and heat in liver and gallbladder, which can improve the clinical symptoms, and the mechanism may be related to relieving inflammatory reaction and protecting hepatocytes.