Ethics approval and consent to participate
The study protocol complied with the ethical standards described in the Declaration of Helsinki. All methods of this study were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations. The procedures implemented in this study adhered to the International Guidelines for Human Biomedical Research Ethics and the Declaration of Helsinki. The Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine granted approval for the study (approval number: JZFYLL202202230011). Furthermore, the study was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trials Registry (registration number: ChiCTR2200055559, registered on January 12, 2022). Any alterations or modifications to the study protocol must be communicated to the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China, and reported to the Chinese Clinical Trials Registry. All patients provided written informed consent and were aware of the potential benefits and risks.