On April 7, the State Council Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism held a press conference, briefing on the treatment of COVID-19 patients and nursing work in the anti-epidemic battle. Dr Gauden Galea, the WHO Representative in China, and Guo Yanhong, Ombudsman of Medical Administration Bureau, the National Health Commission, were present and answered questions. When answering questions, Guo Yanhong pointed out that, in the medical treatment of COVID-19 patients, special attention was given to integration of TCM and western medicine. The diagnosis and treatment principles of TCM and its methods were given to full play to treat all types of cases and in the whole process, including mild cases, severe cases and the convalescent patients.

Shenzhen Special Zone Daily: At present, some imported cases have been hospitalized in the hospitals in China. How is the treatment of these imported cases? 

Guo Yanhong: With the increasing imported cases, we adhere to the following two principles in their treatment. First, in regard to the mild cases, they are hospitalized collectively to prevent them from transmitting the virus to others and to be observed closely in case of disease progression. Through the management and treatment of the mild cases, the recovery rate will be increased and also it reduces the possibility of the mild disease progressing to severe disease. Second, in regard to the severe cases, the same principle of “treating the infected in dedicated facilities by senior medical professionals from all over the country and with all necessary resources” is taken to manage their treatment. With well-coordinated resources and joint consultations, the treatment is improved for the severe cases. In addition, on the basis of the diagnosis and treatment protocol, the personalized treatment plan is tailored for each patient, which implements the idea of science-based and targeted treatment. Moreover, integration of TCM and western medicine is reinforced, which is a very good way to treat virus-induced infectious diseases. TCM emphasizes the dialectic treatment, which could increase the recovery rate. At present, there are a total of 983 imported confirmed cased, with 285 recovered. Now 698 cases are still in hospital, among which, 21 are severe cases. The experience accumulated in the clinical treatment is also suitable to the treatment of the imported cases.

China News Service: According to the latest data, more than 77,000 patients have been cured and discharged. So, after more than 3 months of medical treatment, what are the main experience accumulated in diagnosis and treatment?

Guo Yanhong: Thank you for the question. We can see most of the patients have been cured and discharged. Although COVID-19 is a new infectious disease, we have accumulated some valuable experience through the joint efforts of our experts in the entire treatment process. The experience could be summarized in the following aspects:

First, constantly optimizing the diagnosis and treatment protocol. The diagnosis and treatment protocol is the norm and standard that guides clinical diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, in standardizing and optimizing the protocol, the effective diagnosis and treatment measures, methods and experience in clinical practice, and scientific and technological research results were timely and continuously incorporated into it, so that it can be dynamically adjusted and more targeted. We also paid special attention to integration of TCM and Western medicine. You can see that the principles and methods of TCM treatment are fully reflected in the diagnosis and treatment protocol, and it runs through the entire process from mild disease to severe disease to the convalescent phase. In addition, for different phases and different focuses, we have done a series of work in improving the diagnosis and treatment protocol. On the one hand, for the diagnosis and treatment of severe and critical cases, we have optimized and formed three versions of protocol. On the other hand, we issued protocol concerning management and rehabilitation for discharged patients. So, a full coverage of the whole process of the diagnosis and treatment protocol was implemented. Therefore, constantly optimizing the diagnosis and treatment protocol is one piece of our experience.

Second, adopt "early actions" and "pooling resources" policies. "Early detection, early report, early isolation and early treatment" are effective means to reduce the infection rate and improve the cure rate. First, in implementing the "early actions" policy, timely and continuous expansion of medical resources to improve testing abilities, speed and capacity is required, which can be seen in Wuhan in increasing hospital beds, improving testing abilities and shortening work processes. Second, it is to implement the "pooling resources" policy in the treatment of critical patients. To coordinate medical resources and make those best hospitals as designated hospitals for treating severe cases. At the same time, to organize the best medical and nursing workers to treat the patients in ICU, so to improve the recovered rate. I noticed that Dr. Gauden Galea gave full recognition to China's mobilization of high-quality medical resources nationwide to support Wuhan and thus greatly enhanced the treatment capacity. Therefore, the implementation of "early actions" and "pooling resources" policies, especially the overall planning of medical resources, is a very valuable piece of experience in the treatment of COVID-19.

Third, early intervention, which is fully reflected in the diagnosis and treatment strategy. For mild cases, early intervention should be implemented to prevent them from progressing into severe cases. For severe cases, early intervention should also be adopted, that is, to adopt more positive medical strategies, such as oxygen therapy, intubation and mechanical ventilation. So early intervention is also an important piece of experience for us.

Fourth, science-based and targeted treatment. First, we combine basic medicine with clinical medicine, and timely incorporate some findings from basic medicine into clinical practice. Second, we combine frontline treatment with multidisciplinary support from other places. Ms. Xin Juan also mentioned just now that there were medical teams in the frontline, and strong multidisciplinary expert teams as backup resources from other places that provides them better diagnosis and treatment solutions through 5G online consultation. Third, we pay special attention to the combination of treatment with nursing. We can see that nurses accounts for nearly 70% in the medical teams in Hubei, which fully demonstrate the medical principle of "30% treatment plus 70% nursing". The cooperation and collaboration between doctors and nurses are also an important manifestation of science-based and targeted treatment. Fourth, we focus on the combination of treatment and management through the implementation of quality management and management system to improve the quality of diagnosis and treatment. Fifth, we integrate TCM with western medicine, so that TCM can bring its advantages into full play, and play a role in the treatment COVID-19 with western medicine. All the experience mentioned is worthy of continuously summarizing, learning, developing and improving in the future work.