Chinese Herb Effective for COVID-19

Lianhua Qingwen, an herb widely available and utilized in China due to its class A status, is effective and safe for resolving symptoms due in COVID-19 patients according to a new clinical trial brought to us by AcupunctureToday.

Study Parameters

Published in Phytomedicine, this prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled trial by Ku Hu and colleagues recruited patients from 23 hospitals throughout mainland China. Nearly 300 patients were randomized to an intervention or control group, with the former receiving 12 total lianhua Qingwen capsules daily (four capsules, three times per day) for 14 days. The control group received usual treatment only. (Most patients in both groups also received antiviral treatment; e.g., Oseltamivir.)

The majority of patients recruited for the study were at least 45 years of age, and both the treatment and control groups were similar with regard to symptoms, demographic characteristics, and concomitant treatment.

Key Findings

*The recovery rate was significantly higher in the treatment group (91.5 percent) than the control group (82.4 percent).

*Average time to symptom recovery was shorter in the treatment group (seven days) vs. the control group (10 days).

*For all three primary symptoms, recovery time was shorter in the treatment group vs. the control group recovery time was shorter in the treatment group vs. the control group (fever: two vs. three days; fatigue: three vs. six days; coughing: seven vs. 10 days).

*Chest computed tomographic (CT) improvements were significantly greater in the treatment group (83.8 percent vs. 64.1 percent in controls).

*No serious adverse events were reported; elevated alanine aminotransferase levels or aspertate aminotransferase levels were the most common lab findings.