Yidu-toxicity blocking lung decoction ameliorates inflammation in severe pneumonia of SARS-COV-2 patients with Yidu-toxicity blocking lung syndrome by eliminating IL-6 and TNF-a

Abstract

The present study investigates the differences in inflammatory agents alterations, immune function, and leukocyte differential count evaluation in severe pneumonia of SARS-COV-2 patients with Yidu-toxicity blocking lung syndrome after the recommended Chinese medicine prescription of Yidu-toxicity blocking lung decoction. A total of 40 patients with yidu-toxicity blocking lung syndrome, diagnosed as severe pneumonia of SARS-COV-2 following the latest Chinese national recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of pneumonia caused by SARS-COV-2 (the 5th edition), were recruited. They were randomly divided into the pure western medicine therapy group (PWM) and integrated into Chinese and Western medicine therapy group (ICW). The general strategies were given to both groups according to the national recommendations, and the ICW group was given Yidu-toxicity blocking lung decoction extraorally. A radioimmunoassay method was adopted to detect the content of IL-6, IL-8,IL-2R,TNF-α, procalcitonin (PCT) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in sera. Flow cytometry was used to determine the peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets (the levels of CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, and the ratios of CD4+/CD8+). The white blood cell counts (WBC#), neutrophils count(N#), and lymphocyte counts (L#) were measured using a fully automatic blood rheological instrument. The t-test or Rank Sum Test and Spearman analysis were conducted to evaluate the differences. The results showed that IL-6 (P = 0.013) and TNF-α (P = 0.035) levels in the PWM group were significantly higher than those in the ICW group after treatment. Infection related indicators such as WBC#, N#, L#, hs-CRP showed no differences. The analysis showed that there was no statistical difference in the values of CD4 and CD8 between the two groups. By the end of Day 29, all patients were discharged and the final cure rate for both group were 100 %.Taken together, we conclude that Yidu-toxicity blocking lung decoction could relieve inflammation of SARS-COV-2 patients with yidu-toxicity blocking lung syndrome by eliminating inflammatory agents. CM can serve as a complementary medication to western medicine, which should be highlighted in clinical settings.