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.

External application of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of bone cancer pain: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Bone cancer pain presents a clinical challenge with limitations of current treatments. Many patients seek additional therapies that may relieve pain. Many external applications of traditional Chinese medicines (EAs-TCMs) have been evaluated in clinical trials, but fewer are known about them outside of China. The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy for bone cancer pain. METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted in seven databases until December 2014 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about EAs-TCMs in the treatment of bone cancer pain. The primary outcome was total pain relief rate. The secondary outcomes were adverse events at the end of treatment course. The methodological quality of RCTs was assessed independently using six-item criteria according to the Cochrane Collaboration. All data were analyzed using Review Manager 5.2.0. We included any RCTs evaluating an EA-TCM for the treatment of bone cancer pain. We conducted a meta-analysis. RESULTS: We included six RCTs with 534 patients. In general, the reporting of methodological issues was poor. Compared with morphine sulfate sustained release tablets (MSSRTs) or radiotherapy or bisphosphonates, we analyzed data from five trials reporting on complete response effect score (relative risk (RR) = 5.38, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.80-10.31, P < 0.00001) and partial response (RR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.02-1.37, P = 0.02) and six trials reporting on total pain relief rate (RR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.43-1.67, P < 0.00001). Six RCTs showed significant effects of EA-TCM for improving pain relief in patients with bone cancer pain. In addition, no severe adverse events were found. CONCLUSION: This systematic review showed positive but weak evidence of EA-TCM for bone cancer pain because of the poor methodological quality and the small quantity of the included trials. Future rigorously designed RCTs are required.

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 .