Traditional Chinese medicine is an alternative medical approach based on traditional medicine in China.
One such TCM is Yupingfeng —a patented formula available as compounded granules that includes Astragali radix , Atractylodis macrocephalae rhizoma , and Saposhnikoviae radix —which is often used in China to treat recurrent respiratory tract infections in children. Although YPF is known to enhance immune function, there is little proof that it is effective in treating pediatric RRTIs.
351 children with RRTIs were included in this study and were assigned to one of three groups. While the first group received YPF, the second group received pidotimod, an allopathic conventional drug that has been used to treat RRTI since the 1990s. The third group was only given a placebo. Moreover, the safety profile was similar across all three groups. Together, the findings indicated that YPF was not inferior to pidotimod in treating RRTIs and did not have any safety issues either. YPF also costs less than pidotimod and was thus a more economically feasible option.