Retrospective Analysis on Clinical Efficacy of Ganlu Xiaodu Decoction Combined with Western Medicine in Treatment of Common COVID-19 Patients / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To analyze the clinical efficacy of Ganlu Xiaodu decoction combined with western medicine in the treatment of common coronavirus disease-2019（COVID-19）. Method:With the propensity score matching method，the clinical data of patients with common COVID-19 admitted to Wuhan Third Hospital from January 25，2020 to March 18，2020，were screened out. 115 patients with Ganlu Xiaodu decoction combined with conventional therapy were enrolled in the treatment group according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria，and 115 patients treated with conventional therapy were enrolled in the control group. The disappearance rate of main symptoms（fever，cough，expectoration，chest tightness，fatigue and panting），days of syndrome disappearance，effective rate and disappearance rate of other symptoms，laboratory indexes before treatment and after 7 days' treatment，effective rate in computed tomography（CT） of the lungs，rate of conversion to severe illness and total hospitalization time were compared between the two groups. Result:The baseline data between the two groups showed no statistically significant difference，but were comparable. After 7 days of treatment，the symptom disappearance rate of fever，cough，expectoration，chest tightness，fatigue and panting in the treatment group was significantly higher than that in the control group（P<0.01）.The average number of days to disappearance of main symptoms in treatment group was significantly less than that in the control group（P<0.01）. The effective rate of main symptoms was 93.9%（108/115）in treatment group, significantly higher than 75.7%（87/115，P<0.01）in control group. In the treatment group，the rate of conversion to severe illness was 0, significantly lower than 16.5% (19/115) in the control group (P<0.01). After treatment for 7 days，the white blood cell count，red blood cell count，c-reactive protein，calcitonin，and D-dimer in treatment group were significantly reduced（P<0.05），while lymphocyte count was significantly increased as compared with those before treatment（P<0.01）, the lymphocyte count in control group was also increased significantly in control group（P<0.01），while C-reactive protein，calcitonin and D-dimer were significantly reduced（P<0.05）. As compared with the control group，C-reactive protein and calcitonin levels in the treatment group were significantly down-regulated（P<0.01），and lymphocyte count rose significantly（P<0.05）.The improvement rate of pulmonary CT in the treatment group was 93.9%（108/115），which was significantly higher than 75.7%（87/115）in the control group（P<0.001）. After treatment，the patients in both groups were cured and discharged，and the average length of stay in the treatment group was（14.70±2.76） d，significantly less than（15.80±4.37） d in the control group （P<0.05）. No adverse events occurred in the treatment group but 6 cases occurred in the control group. Conclusion:Ganlu Xiaodu decoction combined with western medicine can significantly improve the clinical symptoms of common COVID-19 patients such as fever，cough，expectoration，chest tightness，fatigue, panting and shortness of breath，alleviate the main symptoms effectively，reduce the rate of conversion from common to serious COVID-19，regulate the expressions of relevant peripheral inflammation factors，promote absorption of lung inflammation，shorten hospitalization time，and improve the cure rate，indicating that Ganlu Xiaodu decoction can be effective in the treatment of patients with common COVID-19.