Clinical features and effectiveness of Chinese medicine in patients with COVID-19 from overseas: A retrospective study in Xiamen, China

Abstract

COVID-19, referred to as new coronary pneumonia, is an acute infectious disease caused by a new type of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. To evaluate the effect of integrated Chinese medicine and Western medicine in patients with COVID-19 from overseas. Data were collected from 178 COVID-19 patients overseas at First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University from April 1, 2021 to July 31, 2021. These patients received therapy of integrated Chinese medicine and western medicine. Demographic data and clinical characteristics were extracted and analyzed. In addition, the prescription which induced less length of PCR positive days and hospitalization days than the median value was obtained. The top 4 frequently used Chinese medicine and virus-related genes were analyzed by network pharmacology and bioinformatics analysis. According to the chest computed tomography (CT) measurement, abnormal lung findings were observed in 145 subjects. The median length of positive PCR/hospitalization days was 7/7 days for asymptomatic subjects, 14/24 days for mild subjects, 10/15 days for moderate subjects, and 14/20 days for severe subjects. The most frequently used Chinese medicine were Scutellaria baicalensis (Huangqin), Glycyrrhiza uralensis (Gancao), Bupleurum chinense (Chaihu), and Pinellia ternata (Banxia). The putative active ingredients were baicalin, stigmasterol, sigmoidin-B, cubebin, and troxerutin. ACE, SARS-CoV-2 3CL, SARS-CoV-2 Spike, SARS-CoV-2 ORF7a, and caspase-6 showed good binding properties to active ingredients. In conclusion, the clinical results showed that integrated Chinese medicine and Western medicine are effective in treating COVID-19 patients from overseas. Based on the clinical outcomes, the putative ingredients from Chinese medicine and the potential targets of SARS-CoV-2 were provided, which could provide a reference for the clinical application of Chinese medicine in treating COVID-19 worldwide.