The efficacy of different traditional Chinese medicine treatment for Corona Virus Disease 2019: systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of different treatment methods currently used for COVID-19 infection, providing evidence-based support for treatment decision-making. Methods: Effective drugs for COVID-19 were selected through literature research. Based on the pharmacological effects of the drugs, they were categorised into three treatment methods: Dispersing lung qi and detoxification; Dispersing lung qi, detoxification and eliminating dampness; Dispersing lung qi, detoxification, eliminating dampness and activating qi. Meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of these three treatment methods, clarifying the advantages of different treatment methods. Results: All three treatment methods showed advantages in various aspects such as shortening fever duration, time to nucleic acid conversion, reducing the rate of severe cases, increasing the recovery rate of chest CT scans, and disappearance rate of cough. Dispersing lung qi and detoxification method showed significant advantages in shortening sore throat duration (P < 0.01), while the other two methods showed significant advantages in improving the disappearance rate of chest tightness, shortening the duration of fatigue, and cough duration. Conclusion: All three treatment methods have shown significant efficacy, providing evidence for the comprehensive treatment of epidemic diseases in traditional Chinese medicine. Dispersing lung qi and detoxification method is suitable for patients with obvious heat symptoms, while Dispersing lung qi, detoxification and eliminating dampness and Dispersing lung qi, detoxification, eliminating dampness and activating qi method can regulate the spleen to remove dampness, dredge and regulate the three jiao qi mechanism, fitting the core pathogenesis of COVID-19 involves dampness, toxin, stagnation and closure.