To seek an effective treatment to delay the development of chronic renal failure

the authors studied the effects of a therapy integrating Chinese and Western medicine with rhubarb as the main drug. Sixty hospitalized patients were divided into an integrated Chinese and Western medicine therapy group (test group

30 cases) and a Western therapy group (control group

30 cases). There were no differences in age

sex

underlying diseases and renal function of the two groups. The patients in both groups were treated for three weeks as a therapy course. The results show the levels of blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine after treatment were higher than before treatment in the control group

but lower in the test group. The value of reciprocal coefficient (slope or b value) relationship between inverse serum creatinine slope and time in the control group was −1.198±3.931

but the slope (b value) in the test group was 0.125±2.252. There were no side-effects to be found in either group. The study suggests that integrated Chinese and Western medicine using rhubarb as a main drug can delay renal function deterioration and improve renal function in some cases.