Data Mining-based Study On The Pattern Of Chinese Medical Evidence And Medication For Benign Thyroid Nodules

Objective: To collect literature related to the treatment of benign thyroid nodules by Chinese medicine,and to mine and organize the information on evidence,symptoms,prescriptions and medicines in the literature by using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Inheritance Support Platform,with the aim of summarizing the rules of experience,providing more ideas and bases for clinical evidence and medicine identification and research,and facilitating the transmission and development of academic ideas on the treatment of benign thyroid nodules by Chinese medicine.Methods: Through searching China Knowledge Network,China Biomedical Literature,Wanfang Journal and Wipu Chinese Journal Database,we collected the literature on the treatment of benign thyroid nodules with Chinese medicine from the date of establishment to 31 December 2022,screened the literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria,extracted the Chinese medical evidence,symptoms and prescribed medication in the qualified literature,and created an Excel database to standardize the data.The data were then entered into TCMISS V2.5 software,and statistical analysis of the literature-related information was carried out through the "Statistical Report" and "Data Analysis" sections that come with the platform,including"Evidence statistics","symptom frequency","drug frequency","nature and taste","drug dosage The contents of this section include "Statistics of symptoms","Frequency of symptoms","Frequency of drugs","Taste and classification","Drug dosage","Formulation pattern","New formula analysis",etc.RESULTS: A total of 171 eligible papers were included in this study and195 medical cases were obtained.The main conclusions drawn were:1.Frequency analysis of the collected TCM evidence types yielded a total of 56 TCM evidence types,of which Qi-depression and phlegm-blocking evidence(53 times),liver-depression and spleen-deficiency and phlegmcoagulation evidence(24 times),Qi-stagnation and phlegm-coagulation and blood-stasis evidence(19 times),phlegm-stasis and phlegm-blocking evidence(15 times)and spleen-deficiency and phlegm-blocking evidence(8 times)were more common.2.Common symptoms include swelling of the neck,red tongue,irritability,poor sleep,dark tongue,thin white fur,light red tongue,moodiness,weakness and discomfort in the neck.The drugs appear in descending order of frequency as Xia Gu Cao,Chai Hu,Zhe Bei Mu,Fu Ling,Oyster,Chen Pi,Yu Jin,Bai Shao,Xiang Shen and Angelica.The four aromas of the drug are mostly cold,warm and flat;the five tastes are mainly bitter,pungent and sweet;and the channels of the liver,spleen,lung and heart meridians.3.The common drug combinations(frequency of occurrence ≥ 40 times)mainly include "zhebei ma-xiaquan cao","xiaquan cao-chai hu","xiaquan cao-oyster" and 23 others.The association rules between drugs mainly include "kombu,oyster-> seaweed","kombu,Chaihu-> seaweed","kombu,zhebei mum-> seaweed",etc.5 The potential new formulae are The potential new formulae include "Oyster,August Zha,Xia Gu Cao,Yu Jin,Perilla leaf" and 11 others.4.For Qi stagnation and phlegm obstruction,drugs such as Chai Hu,Xia Ku Cao,Zhe Bei Mu,Yu Jin and Chen Pi are commonly used,with a bittercold nature and attribute to the liver and spleen meridians.The combination of drugs,mainly Chai Hu,Xia Ku Cao and Yu Jin,has evolved into 7 new prescriptions.Most of the drugs used in the evidence of liver stagnation and spleen deficiency and phlegm coagulation are bitter-cold and pungent-warm in nature,mainly belonging to the liver and spleen meridians,and the commonly used drugs and drug combinations are mainly Zhe Bei Mu,Xia Ku Cao,Fu Ling and Chai Hu,etc.A total of 3 new prescriptions have been discovered.Most of the drugs used for Qi stagnation,blood stasis and phlegm condensation have the effect of resolving phlegm and dispersing knots,and are cold in nature and bitter in nature.Most of the drugs used in the evidence of phlegm and blood stasis are used to resolve phlegm and invigorate blood,with the four qi of the drug being mostly cold and warm,and the five tastes being mostly bitter and pungent.The combination of drugs is also based on strengthening the spleen and dispersing phlegm,resulting in one new prescription.CONCLUSION:1.Through data mining methods,it was concluded that the etiology of benign thyroid nodules is centred on liver stagnation,which affects the spleen,lungs and heart,and in turn causes the formation of pathological products such as phlegm and blood stasis,which in turn can contribute to the dysfunction of the internal organs.By grasping the core pathogenic mechanism of liver stagnation,we can often simplify the diagnosis and improve the accuracy and therapeutic effect of the diagnosis.2.In terms of the overall pattern of medication,it can be observed that clinically,Xia Ku Cao,Chai Hu,Zhe Bei Mu,Fu Ling and Oyster are commonly used to dissolve phlegm and disperse knots,move Qi and relieve depression,and the core drug combinations mostly consist of two combinations of high-frequency drugs,reflecting the therapeutic idea of "elimination" for the gradual elimination and slow dispersion of tangible evil.3.This study also summarized the pattern of medication for different types of benign thyroid nodules,and concluded that the core combination of drugs for Qi stagnation and phlegm obstruction consisted of Chai Hu Dredging the Liver,Prosperity San,Dissipating Scrofula Pill and Seaweed Yuhu Tang;the core combination of drugs for liver stagnation and spleen deficiency and phlegm coagulation was similar to that of Prosperity San;the core combination of drugs for Qi stagnation and phlegm coagulation and blood stasis was Seaweed Yuhu Tang with addition and subtraction;the core combination of drugs for phlegm and blood stasis was to dissolve phlegm and disperse nodules,invigorate blood and resolve depression.The core combination of medicines for signs of phlegm and stagnation of blood is the combination of medicine to dissolve phlegm and stagnation of blood and medicine to de-stagnate the liver,of which the majority is phlegm,reflecting the treatment idea of preventing the growth of phlegm before seeing signs of stagnation.