Abstract:Objective:To analyze the rules of prescription and medication of Professor SONG Xinwei in the treatment of scleroderma based on data mining. Methods: Data of patients with scleroderma who visited Professor SONG's outpatient clinic at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University from August 2011 to August 2021 were collected to construct a prescription database. Descriptive analysis was conducted on the cumulative frequency,nature,and flavor of Chinese medicinals; systematic clustering analysis and association rule analysis were performed on high-frequency Chinese medicinals. Results:A total of 1 764 prescriptions were included into the study, involving 341 medicinals. The top five most frequently used medicinals were Astragali Radix , Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata, and Codonopsis Radix. The most common medicinal flavor was sweet,followed by acrid and bitter flavors;the main medicinal nature was warm. In the classification of Chinese medicinals efficacy, the top six categories in terms of cumulative frequency were deficiency-supplementing medicinals, medicinals for invigorating blood and dissolving stasis, heat-clearing medicinals, exterior-releasing medicinals, medicinals for resolving phlegm, relieving cough,and calming panting,and the interior-warming medicinals. Association analysis identified 37 commonly used core medicinal combinations. The core prescription for Professor SONG's treatment of scleroderma was summarized as Astragali Radix,Codonopsis Radix,Corni Fructus,Dioscoreae Rhizoma, Chuanxiong Rhizoma, Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Cinnamomi Ramulus, Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata, Polygonati Odorati Rhizoma, Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, Paeoniae Radix Alba, Carthami Flos, Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata, Spatholobi Caulis, Cervi Cornu Degelatinatum, Lonicerae Japonicae Flos, Forsythiae Fructus, Ephedrae Herba, and Polygonati Rhizoma. Conclusion: Professor SONG believes that scleroderma is caused by the three pathogenic factors of cold, phlegm, and blood stasis, with yang deficiency and exuberance of cold and phlegm blended with blood stasis as the basic pathogenesis. The basic treatment principles are warming yang and dissipating cold,and resolving phlegm and dispelling blood stasis. Good clinical effects can be achieved through the combination of medicinals.