Integrated TCM - Western Medicine Strategy for Long - Distance Diabetes Management

November 23, 2025 updated by: Shanxi Bethune Hospital

Development of a New Integrated Strategy for Long-Distance and Full-Course Management of Diabetes Using Both Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine: A Combined Online and Offline Approach

The management of diabetes is of great value in reducing the risk of complications and alleviating the socioeconomic burden. Currently, the diabetes management models in China have not effectively integrated the advantages of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine. They also fail to achieve intelligent and automated management, resulting in high management costs and low efficiency. Therefore, it is extremely urgent to explore a new, efficient, convenient, low - cost, and personalized long - distance, full - course, intelligent management model for diabetes that integrates TCM and Western medicine both online and offline.

Based on this, our research group plans to rely on the pre - designed and developed Idata database. We will deeply integrate the diagnostic and treatment advantages of TCM constitution differentiation and Western medical examinations and laboratory tests, construct an automated follow - up path, and build an integrated online diabetes management platform for Internet hospitals, which consists of "intelligent hardware + APP + cloud services + a back - end think - tank of TCM and Western medicine experts + a back - end professional management and care team".

This initiative aims to blaze a new trail in the field of long - distance, full - course, and personalized management of diabetes through the synergy of TCM and Western medicine for Chinese diabetes patients. We expect to significantly reduce the incidence of diabetes complications, remarkably improve the overall health status and quality of life of patients, and bring unprecedented positive impacts on the well - being of diabetes patients.

Study Overview

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

10000

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

    • Shanxi
      • Taiyuan, Shanxi, China, 030000
        • Recruiting
        • Shanxi Bethune Hospital
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Presence of typical diabetes symptoms (polyuria, polydipsia, polyphagia, and unexplained weight loss) AND meeting any one of the following laboratory criteria: Fasting venous plasma glucose ≥ 7.0 mmol/L, or Random plasma glucose ≥ 11.1 mmol/L, or Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) ≥ 6.5%.
  • OR, meeting the following oral glucose tolerance test criteria:Fasting plasma glucose ≥ 7.0 mmol/L AND 2-hour plasma glucose ≥ 11.1 mmol/L after a 75g glucose load.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Comorbidities that may prevent compliance with the study protocol, including but not limited to: active malignancy, rheumatic autoimmune diseases, severe infections, multiple organ failure, or psychiatric disorders.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: Integrated TCM-WM Smart Management Group
Participants receive a novel integrated diabetes management strategy via a smart platform (hardware + APP + cloud). This includes TCM-WM baseline assessments, personalized remote monitoring/reminders (glucose, medication, lifestyle), tailored TCM-WM education, and backend multidisciplinary expert support. The management pathway is dynamically optimized every 3 months based on continuous data analysis.
This intervention is a comprehensive, technology-enabled management strategy. It utilizes an integrated smart platform comprising connected devices (e.g., glucose meters, blood pressure monitors), a mobile application (APP), and cloud services. Participants undergo an initial combined assessment based on Western medicine examinations and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) constitution diagnosis (via questionnaire and tongue image analysis). The platform's algorithms then generate a personalized, automated remote management pathway. This includes customized reminders for monitoring, medication, and follow-ups; tailored lifestyle and health education advice integrating TCM and WM principles; and access to daily online consultations from a backend multidisciplinary expert team (endocrinologists, TCM physicians, nutritionists). The management plan is dynamically optimized every 3 months based on continuous data analysis, forming a closed-loop management system.
Other Names:
  • Intelligent TCM-WM Diabetes Management System
  • Digital Integrated Care Platform for Diabetes
  • Telemedicine-based TCM-WM Collaborative Care
  • AI-Supported Diabetes Management
Other: Conventional Care Group
Participants in this arm receive current standard conventional care for diabetes mellitus. This includes regular outpatient follow-ups by endocrinologists, standard pharmacological therapy (e.g., oral hypoglycemic agents and/or insulin) based on authoritative clinical guidelines such as those from the Chinese Diabetes Society, and routine diabetes health education (e.g., diet and exercise advice) provided by healthcare professionals. Participants in this group do NOT have access to the investigational smart management platform (APP, connected devices), nor do they receive the personalized reminders, remote consultations, integrated TCM-WM management pathway, or proactive management from the backend multidisciplinary team that are part of the intervention. Their care process adheres to the usual practices of their respective medical centers.
This intervention is a comprehensive, technology-enabled management strategy. It utilizes an integrated smart platform comprising connected devices (e.g., glucose meters, blood pressure monitors), a mobile application (APP), and cloud services. Participants undergo an initial combined assessment based on Western medicine examinations and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) constitution diagnosis (via questionnaire and tongue image analysis). The platform's algorithms then generate a personalized, automated remote management pathway. This includes customized reminders for monitoring, medication, and follow-ups; tailored lifestyle and health education advice integrating TCM and WM principles; and access to daily online consultations from a backend multidisciplinary expert team (endocrinologists, TCM physicians, nutritionists). The management plan is dynamically optimized every 3 months based on continuous data analysis, forming a closed-loop management system.
Other Names:
  • Intelligent TCM-WM Diabetes Management System
  • Digital Integrated Care Platform for Diabetes
  • Telemedicine-based TCM-WM Collaborative Care
  • AI-Supported Diabetes Management

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1c)
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 Months
HbA1c reflects average blood glucose levels over the preceding 2-3 months. This outcome measures the absolute change in HbA1c percentage (%) from baseline to the end of the 6-month study period. A larger reduction indicates improved long-term glycemic control.
Baseline to 6 Months
Percentage of Time in Blood Glucose Target Range (TIR)
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 Months
Time in Range (TIR) is the percentage of time that a patient's glucose levels remain within a specified target range (3.9-10.0 mmol/L) over a period of time, as measured by continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) or frequent self-monitoring. This outcome assesses the TIR over the entire 6-month intervention period. A higher TIR percentage indicates more stable glucose control and is associated with a reduced risk of diabetes complications.
Baseline to 6 Months
Glycemic Target Achievement Rate
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 Months
This outcome measures the proportion of participants who achieve their individualized HbA1c treatment goal (e.g., HbA1c <7.0% for most adults) at the 6-month study endpoint. Achievement is defined based on the latest clinical guidelines and individualized patient factors.
Baseline to 6 Months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

November 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

February 28, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

May 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 23, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 23, 2025

First Posted (Estimated)

December 4, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

December 4, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 23, 2025

Last Verified

November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

The current study protocol does not include a plan to make individual participant data (IPD) publicly available. Data sharing may be considered in the future based on institutional policies and upon reasonable request subject to review and approval.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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