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The add-on effect of Chinese herbal medicine on COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China. Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, The Second Clinical School of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Research on Emergency in TCM, Guangzhou, China. Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, The Second Clinical School of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China. Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, The Second Clinical School of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Research on Emergency in TCM, Guangzhou, China. Electronic address: caiyefeng@126.com. School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China; Evidence-based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China; Lanzhou University, an Affiliate of the Cochrane China Network, Lanzhou China; Institute of Health Data Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Evidence Based Medicine and Knowledge Translation of Gansu Province, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China. Electronic address: chenyaolong@lzu.edu.cn. Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, The Second Clinical School of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Research on Emergency in TCM, Guangzhou, China. Electronic address: drlinlin620@163.com.

Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology. 2021;:153282
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Abstract

BACKGROUND Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is thought to be a potential intervention in the treatment of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). PURPOSE This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of CHM or CHM combination therapy for COVID-19. STUDY DESIGN Systematic review and meta-analysis METHODS We searched for relevant studies in the CNKI, CBM, Wanfang Data, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and other resources from their inception to April 15, 2020. Randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, and case-control studies on CHM or CHM combination therapy for COVID-19 were included. Meta-analysis was performed according to the Cochrane Handbook. RESULTS Overall, 19 studies with 1474 patients were included. Meta-analysis showed that the overall clinical effectiveness (OR = 2.67, 95% CI 1.83-3.89, I2 = 0%), improvement in the CT scan (OR = 2.43, 95% CI 1.80-3.29, I2 = 0%), percentage of cases turning to severe/critical (OR = 0.40, 95% CI 0.24-0.67, I2 = 17.1%), reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) negativity rate (OR = 2.55, 95% CI 1.06-6.17, I2 = 56.4%) and disappearance rate of symptoms (fever, cough, and fatigue) were superior by combined CHM treatment of COVID-19. However, there was no statistical difference between the two groups in terms of length of hospital stay (WMD = -0.46, 95% CI -3.87 - 2.95, I2 = 99.5%), and rate of adverse effects (OR = 1.21, 95% CI 0.48-3.07, I2 = 43.5%). The quality of evidence was very low to low. CONCLUSION The combined treatment of COVID-19 with Chinese and Western medicine may be effective in controlling symptoms and reducing the rate of disease progression due to low quality evidence.

Methodological quality

Publication Type : Meta-Analysis

Metadata

MeSH terms : Drugs, Chinese Herbal