Abstract:Objective:To explore the prescription and medication patterns of Chinese medicine in treating cough of laryngeal origin using data mining techniques. Methods:Relevant literature on Chinese medicine treatment of cough of laryngeal origin was retrieved from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI),China Science Periodical Database (CSPD),and Chinese Citation Database (CCD). A database of Chinese medicine prescriptions for cough of laryngeal origin was established using Excel 2019. The properties,flavors,meridian tropism,and usage frequency of Chinese medicinals were statistically analyzed. Association pattern analysis, hierarchical clustering analysis, and complex network analysis were performed using SPSS Statistics 24.0 and SPSS Modeler 18.0 software. Results: A total of 228 prescriptions were included,comprising 192 medicinals in 19 major categories with a total usage frequency of 2 596 times. The predominant properties of the medicinals were cold,warm,and neutral;the main flavors were sweet,bitter,and pungent;and the primary meridians targeted were the lung,stomach,liver,and spleen. The most commonly used categories of medicinals were cough-relieving and asthma-controlling medicinals,exterior-releasing medicinals, heat-clearing medicinals, phlegm-resolving medicinals, deficiency-tonifying medicinals, and liver- calming and wind-extinguishing medicinals. The medicinals with the top five usage frequency were Cicadae Periostracum, Platycodonis Radix, Armeniacae Semen Amarum, Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, and Bombyx Batryticatus. Association rule analysis identified four sets of highly correlated medicinal combinations. Cluster analysis divided the medicinals into six clusters. Complex network analysis showed that the main therapeutic categories of medicinals were wind-dispelling,cough-relieving and asthma-controlling medicinals,heat-clearing and detoxifying medicinals for sore throat,yin-nourishing and lung-moistening medicinals,and qi-regulating and phlegm-resolving medicinals. Conclusion: Cough of laryngeal origin is often characterized by deficiency interweaved with excess syndrome,with the primary disease location in the lung and close associations with the liver and spleen. The main pathogenic factors are wind, heat, dryness, and deficiency. The underlying prescriptions for treating cough of laryngeal origin often include variations of the Zhisou powder,Sangxing Decoction,and Erchen Decoction. The main therapeutic principles are wind-dispelling,cough-relieving and asthma-controlling,heat-clearing and detoxifying for sore throat,yin-nourishing and dryness-moistening,and spleen-strengthening and dampness-drying.