Traditional Medicine and Modern Medicine

Based on the naming of diseases in the history and the nomenclature of diseases, especially that of novel human infectious diseases, in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and modern medicine, we put forward the following suggestions for the naming and severity classification of “coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)”: (1) Patients with only nucleic acids positive or nucleic acid positive as well as some of the symptoms but without any evidence of pneumonia should be diagnosed more generally such as “Novel coronavirus respiratory infection (NCRI)” or “Novel coronavirus infection (NCI)”. (2) The manifestations concerning pneumonia can be used as the main basis for the classification of the severity of the disease. For instance, those with only nucleic acids positive or nucleic acid positive as well as mild symptoms are mild, those with nucleic acid positive as well as symptoms like fever and cough are moderate, those with nucleic acid positive as well as pneumonia are severe, those with severe symptoms as well as respiratory failure and multiple organ damage are critical. (3) Also, those with infections and clinical manifestations but no pneumonia can be called simple type, and those with pneumonia can be called pneumonia type. (4) Under the current background of integrative medicine, the naming of newly emerging infectious diseases by TCM should be changed from an ambiguous concept to a clearly defined one. It may define the disease according to the etiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestation or prognosis of the disease, redefine the original concept in TCM and discard the excessively broad part, or carry out the common naming between TCM and modern medicine based on the specific pathogen. (5) According to the nomenclature of diseases in TCM plus that in modern medicine, the NCI may be named “Jihai (2019) — Pestilence” (Ji Hài (2019) — Yì Lì) in TCM.

COVID-19 is becoming a large health and economic threat worldwide. Here, the epidemic statistics and prevention measures between China and the US are compared. It is noted that wearing masks at different stages of virus breakout, quarantine pattern, and policy executive strength may be the major factors causing the difference in effectiveness of the epidemic control.

Acupuncture has valuable therapeutic effects on combating pestilence based on ancient literature and practical experiences acquired during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Inner Classic of Nei Jing had laid out the principles and therapeutic methods for acupuncture applied to treat febrile diseases and special preventive treatment for pestilence as well, which was an idle sample of Cosmo-Human Correspondence doctrine of Chinese medicine. The author developed a practical protocol for acupuncture in body-resistance enhancement, symptom management, and post-pandemic care during COVID-19 outbreak. The protocol is more suitable for practicing in the western countries. Special precautions of practice during the pandemic and reopening clinic issues aftermath are also introduced.

The COVID-19 epidemic in China has been effectively controlled, a large number of patients have been released from isolation and discharged, and the treatment and rehabilitation programs in the recovery period need to be effectively implemented. The recovery of coronavirus disease 2019 is a syndrome of deficiency and solidity. The deficiency of qi and yin is dominant, and some patients have yang deficiency; phlegm and stasis are the main pathological products. We suggest that hierarchical management is recommended for patients in the recovery period. Asymptomatic patients with normal lung imaging results should take the respiratory rehabilitation program and have no need to take drugs. Patients with clinical symptoms with or without lung shadows, and patients who have no obvious symptoms but whose lung shadows are not completely absorbed, need to be treated according to syndrome differentiation.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) plays an active role in the prevention and control of COVID-19 epidemic. Currently, there are many TCM intervention programs for the COVID-19 infections, and the clinical effect is better. However, there are some problems in the design of actual clinical programs. This paper analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of various TCM interventions for the COVID-19 infection from the perspective of scientific and clinical research. We can scientifically use the TCM theory to guide and design clinical research, and come up with real data and treatment, to provide new models and explorations for the research of the modernization of Chinese medicine.

Objective: To analyze the distribution characteristics of syndrome of TCM of the patients with COVID-19 in Kunming, China.

Methods: To classify and summarize the TCM syndrome types of COVID-19 patients via Cluster analysis combining with tongue image, chest CT and clinical expertise of 36 Covid-19 patients in Kunming.

Results: In the 36 cases of Kunming region confirmed COVID-19 patients, 17 cases had fever (47.2%), 18 cases had cough (50%), 16 cases felt bitter taste in the mouth (44.4%), 18 cases felt dry throat (50.0%), 17 cases had poor appetite (47.2%), 15 cases had nausea (41.7%); 12 cases had diarrhea (33.3%), 15 cases had insomnia (41.7%); 12 cases had chest tightness (33.3%); 3 cases had dyspnea (8.3%); 6 cases had nasal congestion and running nose (16.7%); 15 cases had fatigue (41.7%); 6 cases had headache and body pain (16.7%); 5 cases had red tongue (13.9%); 18 cases had pale red tongue (50%); 8 cases had tongue with red edge and tip (22.2%); 3 cases had dark red tongue (8.3%); 2 cases had cyanosis (5.6%); 3 cases had swollen tongue (8.3%); 18 cases had dentate tongue (50%); 4 cases had yellow tongue coating (11.1%); 5 cases had yellow sticky tongue coating (13.9%); 12 cases had white sticky tongue coating (33.3%); 6 cases had thin white tongue coating (16.7%); 2 cases had no tongue coating (5.6%).

The chest CT results showed that: There were five cases without lesions. The lesions were located in the upper lobe of one lung in 13 cases located in the lower lobe of one lung in seven cases, located in the upper middle lobe in three cases, located in the lower lobe in five cases, and in the upper middle and lower lobes of double lung in 13 cases. There were 14 cases of Shaoyang syndrome, 17 cases of wet Resistance Tir-juao Syndrome. According to the time of onset, the disease was followed by Shaoyang Syndrome (1 day), the Wet blocked tri-jiao Syndrome (3 days), epidemic poison retention lung syndrome and syndrome of flaring heat in qifen and yingfen (5 days), and dampness-toxicity lung-stagnation syndrome (6 days).

Conclusion: The TCM syndromes of COVID-19 in Kunming are mainly the Wet Resistance Tri-Jiao Syndrome and Shaoyang syndrome, followed by dampness-toxicity lung-stagnation syndrome, epidemic poison retention lung and syndrome of flaring heat in qifen and yingfen.

The coronavirus pandemic is currently raging throughout the world. The ensuing crisis has acquired a multidimensional nature, affecting all levels of society, including international health legal order. For international health law, the World Health Organization (WHO) is the international institution with a core mandate in issues of global health. Moreover, the International Health Regulations (IHR) is the main legally binding instrument laying down rules for the cross-border spread of contagious diseases. Against this backdrop, this paper evaluates the issues and disputes under the current regimes of international health law. The paper then offers some thoughts by way of answers to the research questions.

Objective: To summarize the clinical experience of Professor Liangduo Jiang in the prevention and control of the new coronavirus disease COVID-19.

Methods: Between January 2020 and February 2020, 87 subjects who have had contact with patients tested positive for COVID-19 in an isolated observation site in Tianjin were given the Chinese medicine prescription for prevention prescribed by Professor Liangduo Jiang continuously for three days. Their basic information, clinical manifestations and medication adherence were statistically analyzed, and the clinical manifestations, temperature changes and infection status after medication were summarized.

Results: After the 14-day isolation observation period, only one patient who had close contact with confirmed patients developed a positive test for COVID-19 after taking the preventive Chinese medicine prescription, with the infection rate of 1.149%.

Conclusion: The preventive treatment by Professor Liangduo Jiang is effective in the prevention and control of the epidemic.

The highly infectious coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that emerged in Wuhan, China, was caused by a novel strain of coronavirus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Subsequently, it was considered as one of the serious potential threats to global public health due to rapid spread worldwide. The purpose of this paper is to describe the characteristics of epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, and treatment of traditional Chinese medicine and modern medicine in critically ill adults with COVID-19. We searched the related papers published up to April 20, 2020 on the PubMed and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure database. The findings will improve the potential recognition of COVID-19 among clinicians and the general public, and presumably contribute to the reduction of mortality.