Abstract:Objective To explore the therapeutic effects of classical restorative porridge (CRP) on clinical symptoms in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) caused by spleen and kidney yang deficiency. Methods A total of 86 patients with CFS caused by spleen and kidney yang deficiency admitted in our hospital were included, who were randomly divided into experimental group (n = 43) and control group (n = 43). All patients received health education with individual and collective guidance for a period of eight weeks by health education instruction manuals, lectures and online learning. Patients in experimental group received additional CRP (400-500 ml) for 8 weeks once every other day. Clinical syndrome was recorded pre and post treatment by several scales such as the Fatigue Scale-14 (FS-14), Somatic and Psychological Health Report (SPHERE). Results Patients in both group experienced improvement in scores of FS-14 and SPHERE (P < 0.05). However, scores of FS-14 and SPHERE and the total score of spleen and kidney yang deficiency syndrome were decreased significantly when compared with those in control group (P < 0.05). Repeated ANOVA analysis showed those scores were significant in group effect, time effect and interactive effect (P < 0.05). Four weeks post intervention, 9 items of spleen and kidney yang deficiency syndromes in experimental group were lower than control group, among which fatigue poor appetite and abdominal distention experienced dramatic improvement (P < 0.05). Eight weeks post intervention, the total score and 8 items (except waist cold and pain) in experimental group were lower than control group (P < 0.05). Conclusions CRP can relieve fatigue symptoms and TCM syndrome.