Abstract
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has played a significant role in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan City. During the epidemic, Academician Tong Xiaolin suggested a close association of COVID-19 with cold-dampness, an etiological factor in TCM, by summarizing the characteristics of the COVID-19 patients in Wuhan. and the theory of Cold-dampness Plague was proposed. Based on the Cold-dampness Plague theory, a series of TCM drugs, such as Huoxiang Zhengqi Dropping Pills, Lianhua Qingwen Granules Hanshiyi Formula, and Tongzhi Granule were developed for the different stages, namely mild, moderate, severe, recovery, of the COVID-19. In addition, clinical evidences were obtained through randomized clinical trials or retrospective cohort studies. The Anti-SARS-CoV-2 mechanism of the TCM prescriptions were then summarized from the four aspects: targeting the ACE2 and 3CLPro, targeting cytokines, targeting acute immune responses to SARS-CoV-2, and targeting pulmonary fibrosis. Despite the clinical efficacy and therapeutic pharmacology speculation, more studies such as large-scale randomized clinical trials, cell and animal experiments are needed to further verify the theory of the Cold-dampness Plague in COVID-19 patients.
Highlights
In December 2019, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which first broke out in Wuhan City, the capital of Hubei province in China, was identified as being caused by a novel coronavirus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [1, 2]
In our retrospective cohort study of 662 patients in Wuhan with severe and critical COVID19, the mortality risk of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) users was reduced by 82.2%, when compared to the non-users, suggesting that Hexin Formula (HXF) guided by the TCM theory of cold-damp plague may reduce the mortality and can be used as an alternative treatment option besides conventional antiviral and supportive treatment
Tongzhi Granule (TZG) was widely used for patients with COVID-19 who were in the recovery period and were at high risk of pulmonary fibrosis (PF)
Summary
In December 2019, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which first broke out in Wuhan City, the capital of Hubei province in China, was identified as being caused by a novel coronavirus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [1, 2]. In the early stage of the disease, usually no manifestations of pneumonia are present on medical imaging, and the cold-dampness constraint in the lung is the major pathological factor. In this stage, the patients present with no or mild clinical symptoms such as fever, aversion to cold, fatigue, sometimes accompanied by muscular weakness, anorexia, diarrhea, etc. Consecutively negative RT-PCR tests and improvement in chest radiography are obtained, the patients usually have mild clinical symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue and poor appetite This phenonmenon is mainly due to remaining cold-dampness pathogen in the body [27].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
