Effects of traditional Chinese medicine on treatment outcomes in severe COVID-19 patients: a single-centre study / 中国天然药物

As the search for effective treatments for COVID-19 continues, the high mortality rate among critically ill patients in Intensive Care Units (ICU) presents a profound challenge. This study explores the potential benefits of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as a supplementary treatment for severe COVID-19. A total of 110 critically ill COVID-19 patients at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Vulcan Hill Hospital between Feb., 2020, and April, 2020 (Wuhan, China) participated in this observational study. All patients received standard supportive care protocols, with a subset of 81 also receiving TCM as an adjunct treatment. Clinical characteristics during the treatment period and the clinical outcome of each patient were closely monitored and analysed. Our findings indicated that the TCM group exhibited a significantly lower mortality rate compared with the non-TCM group (16 of 81 vs 24 of 29; 0.3 vs 2.3 person/month). In the adjusted Cox proportional hazards models, TCM treatment was associated with improved survival odds (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the analysis also revealed that TCM treatment could partially mitigate inflammatory responses, as evidenced by the reduced levels of proinflammatory cytokines, and contribute to the recovery of multiple organic functions, thereby potentially increasing the survival rate of critically ill COVID-19 patients.

Effect and safety of celiac continued circulatory hyperthermia perfusion with chemotherapy in the treat-ment of cancer with ascites Meta-analysis / 实用肿瘤学杂志

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of celiac continued circulatory hyper -thermia perfusion with chemotherapy in the treatment of cancer with ascites .Methods Databases including the Cochrane Library MEDLINE,PubMed,Embase,CBM,VIP,CNKI and WanFang Data,and the other sources as supplying .The literatures were screened according to the inclusion criteria ,extracted data and assessed the meth-odological quality ,and then meta -analysis was performed using RevMan 5.0.2 software.Results Totally 14 RCTs with 867 patients were included .Meta-analysis showed that compared intraperitoneal chemotherapy ,with celiac continued circulatory hyperthermia perfusion had a significant difference in CR ( OR=3.18,95%CI:2.18~4.64,P<0.00001),PR(OR=2.05,95%CI:1.51~2.77,P<0.00001),overall effective rate(OR=4.88, 95%CI:3.59~6.46,P<0.00001).The incidence of adverse reactions was no statistically significant in the two groups.Conclusion Celiac continued circulatory hyperthermia perfusion with chemotherapy in the treatment of cancer with ascites demonstrates better efficacy and safety ,but it still needs to verify the above conclusion .