On the afternoon of April 24, Symposium on Effect of TCM for COVID-19 and Inheriting, Innovating and Developing TCM was held. More than 20 medical experts represented by Zhang Boli and Zhang Wenhong participated in the online activity to discuss how TCM works in COVID-19 containment and its future. 

The symposium was organized by Shanghai Association for Science and Technology, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tongji Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Shanghai Science and Technology Development Foundation. 

TCM helps reduce the possibility of mild disease progressing to severe disease and recover with less sequelae.

Zhang Boli, expert of the Central Steering Group, academician with Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, takes that, from the angel of TCM, COVID-19 belongs to an epidemic of dampness and toxicity, with different characteristics of dampness, invisible emergence, and easy to be heated, chilled and dried. He expressed that with strict isolation, TCM medication worked a lot to suppress the disease.

Zhang Boli expressed that TCM is used in the whole process of COVID-19 patient treatment. With mild and moderate cased, TCM helps to improve symptoms and reduce the possibility of mild disease progressing to severe disease. With severe and critical cases, the early intervention of TCM injection, together with western medicine, can save lives. With the recovering cases, TCM helps with rehabilitation, recover with less sequelae.

Zhang Boi was counselor general to Wuhan Jiangxia Makeshift Hospital, which is the only makeshift hospital fully taken over by a TCM team.

Zhang Boli said that with the comprehensive TCM therapies of TCM medication, massage, scraping, plastic therapy, Tai-chi and Baduanjin, no case developed severe disease. Data shows that in makeshift hospitals with TCM intervention, 2% to 5% cases developed severe disease, compared with 10% in those without TCM medication.

TCM medication significantly shortens the time of turning to negative test with severe cases.

Huang Luqi, academician with Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences introduced the clinical trials on TCM conducted in the frontline. He mentioned that Dampness Resolving and Detoxification Decoction is the key formula used in the frontline, and the key approach is to detoxify and resolve dampness, to clear heat and pacify panting.

Huang Luqi introduced that, a retrospective clinical control trial was conducted on the efficacy and safety of TCM treatment for severe COVID-19 cases. It included 55 cases, with 23 in TCM group and 32 in western medicine group. The findings show that TCM medication significantly shortens the time of turning to negative test with severe cases.

In the clinical control trial on Dampness Resolving and Detoxification Granule used in mild and severe cases, the results show that the granule helps increase discharged cases and reduce transference to other hospitals. 

Huang Luqi concluded: “Both TCM approaches and medication are safe and effective and the integration of TCM and western medicine has its advantage, which can be supported by quality clinical evidence.”

TCM medication reduces life risk of severe and critical cases by over 80%.

Tong Xiaolin, academician with Chinese Academy of Sciences and chief researcher with China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, introduced that TCM decoction could reduce life risk of severe and critical cases by over 80%.

Taking 1,476 cases in Wuhan Integrated TCM and Western Medicine Hospital as an example, he said there were 662 severe and critical cases there (with 484 in TCM decoction group and 178 in the control group). There were 15 deaths in TCM decoction group and 56 in the control group. He introduced that with TCM decoction, the risk of life was reduced by 87.7%, which meant a difference in statistics. 

He also mentioned that, they conducted an observation and analysis on those discharged for COVID-19 from 6 rehabilitation homes in Wuhan. The median isolating observation time for each case is 10 days. They observed 420 discharged cases, with 325 intervened by TCM treatment, such as granule (the general formula for the convalescent), Baduanjin, plastic therapy, moxibustion, and food bath, and 95 without TCM intervention.

Tong Xiaolin introduced that the findings showed with TCM intervention, the symptoms of the observed cases had been significantly improved, including cough, pressed chest, shortness of breath, fatigue, palpation, insomnia and sweating.

TCM drugs and western medicine drugs should be combined.

Jiang Hualiang, academician with Chinese Academy of Science and researcher with Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica of Chinese Academy of Science, expressed that he had done some clinical trial on TCM drugs, in spite of being a western medicine professional.

“I stayed in Wuhan for three weeks. In the retrospective research work, I found a lot of clues for retrospective basic research,” said Jiang Hualiang. This kind of loops could promote the development of TCM itself. In addition, the clue could also promote the modern life science and modern medicine.

Jiang Hualiang believed that, on one hand, the value of TCM should not only be manifested by itself, but also by western medicine discoveries got from the clues of TCM. On the other hand, western medicine would promote the development of TCM. In the aspect of innovative approaches, the efficacy of TCM could be studied through modern technological methods, to get innovation while keeping the legacy. “No matter they are drugs belonging to TCM or western medicine, they should be used to combine each other, instead of rejecting each other, in case they are effective.”