ABSTRACT
We report a telemedicine-based case-series of 30 mild/moderate (classification based on guidelines by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India) COVID-19 patients, treated using Integrative Therapy based on Ayurveda, Yoga and Modern Western Medicine, i.e., MWM (allopathy). Cases were high-risk owing to comorbidities like Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension, Coronary Artery Disease, Ulcerative colitis, Chronic Kidney Disease and/or age above 60. The cases have been categorized into YAS (Yoga-Ayurveda based treatment, with possibly allopathic Supplements: 4 patients), YASP (Yoga-Ayurveda based treatment, with possibly allopathic Supplements and Paracetamol: 6 patients), YAM (Yoga-Ayurveda based treatment, and MWM as adjunct: 6 patients), MYA (first tried MWM, later switched to Yoga-Ayurveda: 14 patients). Based on each patient’s symptoms and co-morbidities, a personalized treatment plan including Ayurvedic medicines, Yoga protocol, dietary recommendations and lifestyle modifications was prescribed by a registered Ayurveda doctor and a Yoga consultant. More than half of symptomatic patients started improving within 5 days (90% within 9 days);more than 60% reported at least 90% recovery within 10 days. Six patients with oxygen saturation (SpO2) below 95%, benefited through Makarasana and Shithilasana;none progressed to composite endpoints (consisting of admission to Intensive Care Unit, invasive ventilation or death). Considering that approximately 19.3% of the patients with these comorbidities progress to composite end points, the p-value is 7.21 x 10−3. The Integrative Therapy, incorporating Yoga and Ayurveda with MWM, may offer an economical, scalable treatment option for COVID-19 by reducing burden on healthcare facilities and preventing risk-exposure of healthcare workers. © 2022, National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
There is currently no drug or therapy that can cure the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is highly contagious and can be life-threatening in severe cases. Therefore, seeking potential effective therapies is an urgent task. An older female at the Leishenshan Hospital in Wuhan, China, with a severe case of COVID-19 with significant shortness of breath and decrease in peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2), was treated using manual acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine granule formula Fuzheng Rescue Lung with Xuebijing Injection in addition to standard care. The patient's breath rate, SpO2, heart rate, ratio of neutrophil/lymphocyte (NLR), ratio of monocyte/lymphocyte (MLR), C-reactive protein (CRP), and chest computed tomography were monitored. Acupuncture significantly improved the patient's breathing function, increased SpO2, and decreased her heart rate. Chinese herbal medicine might make the effect of acupuncture more stable; the use of herbal medicine also seemed to accelerate the absorption of lung infection lesions when its dosage was increased. The combination of acupuncture and herbs decreased NLR from 14.14 to 5.83, MLR from 1.15 to 0.33 and CRP from 15.25 to 6.01 mg/L. These results indicate that acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, as adjuvants to standard care, might achieve better results in treating severe cases of COVID-19.
Subject(s)
Acupuncture Therapy , COVID-19 , Drugs, Chinese Herbal , COVID-19/therapy , Female , Humans , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: We report a high-risk case of a coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19)-positive patient with comorbidities including diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HTN), hypothyroidism and chronic kidney disease (CKD), treated successfully using an integrative therapy plan based on Ayurveda and Yoga, along with government-mandated compulsory modern western medicine (MWM) treatment. Recently, some evidence has been emerging on the use of Ayurveda for treatment of COVID-19. The classical texts of Ayurvedic medicine such as Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita contain descriptions of pandemics of similar proportions and describe them as Janapadoddhvansa, meaning the destruction of communities, along with their causes and treatment. CASE PRESENTATION: The case reported herein is a 55-year-old man from Delhi, India, with confirmed (tested) COVID-19, who first took MWM for 7 days before seeking integrative therapy. The patient has comorbidities including DM, HTN, hypothyroidism and CKD and had developed symptoms including fever (which was resolved by the time integrative therapy was started), sore throat, dry cough, body aches, weakness, bad taste and smell, and heaviness in the abdomen. Based on the patient's symptoms and comorbidities, a treatment plan including Ayurvedic medicines, Yoga protocol, dietary recommendations and lifestyle modifications was prescribed by a registered Ayurveda doctor and a Yoga consultant. The patient started experiencing improvement in all the symptoms within 2 days after starting the treatment; he reported approximately [Formula: see text] relief from the symptoms after 5 days, and almost complete relief within 9 days. Also, the blood sugar levels (both fasting blood sugar [FBS] and postprandial blood sugar [PPBS]) exhibited significant improvement after 5 days, and decreased to within the normal range within 12 days. Besides relief in symptoms, the patient's real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test done on the 19th day returned negative results. CONCLUSIONS: Integrative therapy was found to be effective in mitigating the symptoms of COVID-19 in this patient with multiple comorbidities. Moreover, a significant improvement in blood sugar levels (not under control with modern medicine) was also achieved. Integrative therapy based on the classical texts of Ayurveda and Yoga may offer a promising and scalable treatment option for COVID-19 patients. A case series or a suitably designed randomized controlled trial is needed to assess its efficacy.