Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33419674›Full record

Trial reportPhytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology2021

Effects and safety of herbal medicines among community-dwelling residents during COVID-19 pandemic: A large prospective, randomized controlled trial (RCT).

Bohua Yan, Zhiwei Jiang, Jing Yuan, Minghui Li, Jieping Zeng, Jianyuan Tang, Z Kevin Lu, Hong Ding, Jielai Xia, Qiaoling Wang and 13 more

Open access · greenAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.0field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

23 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Bohua YanHospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Zhiwei JiangBeijingKeyTech Statistical Consulting Co. Ltd, Beijing, China.
Jing YuanFudan University, Shanghai, China.
Minghui LiUniversity of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, United States.
Jieping ZengHospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Jianyuan TangHospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: tangjianyuan163@163.com.
Z Kevin LuUniversity of South Carolina College of Pharmacy, Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Electronic address: lu32@email.sc.edu.
Hong DingHospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Jielai XiaPeople's Liberation Army Air Force Military Medical University, Xi'an, China. Electronic address: xiajielai@fmmu.edu.cn.
Qiaoling WangHospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Jundong WangHospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Hongyan XieHospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Wenyuan LiHospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Na ZhangHospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Haiyan LiHospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Xiaoya SangHospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Lina WuHospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Xiaomo XiongUniversity of South Carolina College of Pharmacy, Columbia, South Carolina, United States.
Shiyun TangHospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Yan LiHospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Mengyao TaoHospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Chunguang XieHospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: xcg718@aliyun.com.
Shuguang YuChengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: ysg28588@126.com.
University of South Carolina · USFudan University · CNPeople's Liberation Army Air ForceUniversity of Tennessee Health Science Center · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSince the declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization, countries are struggling with a shortage of medical capacities. It would be essential if the risk for preventable comorbidities, such as the common cold, can be reduced or prevented, so that the scarce medical resources and facilities can be focused on COVID-19. PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of two herbal medicines (Jinhaoartemisia antipyretic granules and Huoxiangzhengqi oral liquids) in reducing the risk of the common cold in community-dwelling residents in China during the COVID-19 outbreak. STUDY

designA prospective open-label, parallel-group, cluster-randomized controlled trial (RCT), was conducted in Chengdu, China.

methodsA total of 22,065 participants from 11 communities were recruited during a period of one month. The trial started on 30 January and participants were followed up till 29 February 2020. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either a five-day herbal medicine therapy plus a reference manual or a reference manual only if they were allocated to the control group. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of patient-reported common cold symptoms. The secondary endpoint was the time in days from the receipt of herbal drugs/reference manual and the occurrence of the common cold symptoms.

resultsUse of herbal medicine reduced the risk of the common cold by 89.6% (95% CI, 52.9% to 97.7%) in all community-dwelling residents, and by 94.0% (95% CI, 52.1% to 99.2%) in residents aged between 16 and 59 years old. Sensitivity analyses showed similar results.

conclusionThis community-based RCT found that the use of a herbal medicine therapy (Jinhaoartemisia antipyretic granules and Huoxiangzhengqi oral liquids) could significantly reduce the risks of the common cold among community-dwelling residents, suggesting that herbal medicine may be a useful approach for public health intervention to minimize preventable morbidity during COVID-19 outbreak.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultChinaCommon ColdCOVID-19Drugs, Chinese HerbalFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPandemicsProspective StudiesTreatment OutcomeYoung AdultDrugs, Chinese HerbalCommon coldCoronavirus disease 2019Herbal medicineRespiratory tract infection

Identifiers

PMID33419674
PMCPMC7642754
OpenAlexW3097414638

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.