Evaluation of Addon Effectiveness of Arogya Kashayam-20 in Mild-To-Moderate COVID-19 Cases – a Randomized Controlled Study

Abstract

Introduction: The clinical features of the COVID-19 disease range from asymptomatic to mild–moderate symptoms. Owing to the severity and sudden onset of the disease, cases need hospital-based care. Several treatment protocols and strategies have been promoted and recommended by authorities including WHO, but nothing has actually been finalized to date. The present study was carried to evaluate the effectiveness of an Ayurvedic formulation, namely Arogya Kashayam-20 as an add-on to standard care in hospitalized cases of COVID-19. Materials and Methods: The study was a randomized controlled trial carried out at COVID Care Centre, xxxxxx with a sample size of 112 participants, aged between 16 and 60 years of either sex into two groups, namely, groups A and B. Both the groups received hydroxychloroquine, Vitamin C, and zinc as per the prevailing ICMR guidelines, and group “A” received additional Arogya Kashayam-20 for a 10-day duration. The outcome of the study was to see the negative conversion reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test after this duration. Results: Among the 60 cases in the study group (group A), 51 cases (85.00%) were reported with negative RT-PCR on the 10th day. Out of 52 cases registered in the control group (group B), 39 cases (75.00%) tested negative for RT-PCR. In both, groups all the cases were discharged asymptomatically on the 10th day as per the prevailing ICMR guidelines. No ADR/AE was reported during the period. Conclusion: The study observes that the add-on intervention group has a better outcome in terms of RT-PCR negative reports after 10 days compared to the control group.