Therapeutic effect of integrative traditional Chinese and western medicine on 51 SARS patients and its influence on their T lymphocyte subsets

Objective: To observe the clinical effect of integrative Chinese and western medicine (IC-WM) in treatment of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and its influence on their T-lymphocyte subsets.Methods: Fifty-one patients with SARS of severe type were observed with synchronous non-randomized controlled method. They were divided into the ICWM group (29 patients) and the western medicine (WM) group (22 patients). Western medical treatment was applied to both groups, but to the ICWM group, Chinese medicine was given additionally. The therapeutic course was 2–3 weeks for both groups. Clinical effect and changes of T-lymphocyte subsets (CD4(+)) after treatment were observed.Results: In the ICWM group, 26 patients (89. 66%) were cured and 3 (10. 34%) died, while in the WM group, 12 (54. 55%) cured and 10 (45. 45%) died, thus comparison of the cure rate between the two groups showing significant difference (P <0.01). The score of clinical symptoms in the ICWM group was decreased from 7.14±5.20 scores before treatment to 1.82±3.75 scores after treatment, while in the WM group, it lowered from 7. 36±3.84 scores before treatment to517±417 scores after treatment, significant difference shown in the comparison of the values between the two groups after treatment (P < 0.01). Immunological function test showed that CD4(+) T-lymphocyte in the ICWM group rose from 361 ± 278 cells/mm(3) before treatment to 630 ± 454 cells/mm(3) after treatment, showing significant difference (P < 001); but in the WM group, it merely rose from 288±186 cells/mm(3) to 376±285 cells/mm(3) in the corresponding period (P > 0.05).Conclusion: ICWM could improve the clinical symptoms of SARS patients markedly, enhance their T-lymphocyte immune function, and reduce their mortality.