Clinical Effect of Traditional Chinese Medicine Shenhuang Granule in Critically Ill Patients with COVID-19: A Single-Centered, Retrospective, Observational Study

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has become a public health emergency of global concern. In China, traditional Chinese medicine has been widely administered to COVID-19 patients without sufficient evidence. To evaluate the efficacy of Shenhuang Granule (SHG) for treating critically ill patients with COVID-19, we included in this study 118 patients who were admitted to the ICU of Tongji Hospital between January 28, 2020 and March 28, 2020. Among these patients, 33 (27.9%) received standard care plus SHG (treatment group) and 85 (72.1%) received standard care alone (control group). Enrolled patients had a median (IQR) age of 68 (57-75) years, and most (79 [67.1%]) were men. At end point of this study, 83 (70.3%) had died in ICU, 29 (24.5%) had been discharged from ICU, and 6 patients (5.2%) were still in ICU. Compared with control group, mortality was significantly lower in treatment group (45.4% vs. 80%, p < .001). Patients in treatment group were less likely to develop acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (12 [36.3%] vs. 54 [63.5%], p = 0.012) and cardiac injury (5 [15.1%] vs. 32 [37.6%], p = 0.026), and less likely to receive mechanical ventilation (22 [66.7%] vs. 72 [84.7%], p = 0.028) than those in control group. The median time from ICU admission to discharge was shorter in treatment group (32 [20-73] days vs. 76 [63-79] days, p = 0.0074). These findings suggest that SHG treatment as a complementary therapy might be effective for critically ill adults with COVID-19 and warrant further clinical trials.