Effects of integrative Chinese and Western medicine on arterial oxygen saturation in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome

Objective: To evaluate the effects of treatment of integrative Chinese and Western medicine (ICWM) on arterial oxygen saturation (SaO(2)) in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).Methods:The non-randomized, controlled trial was conducted on 447 SARS patients treated synchronously with western conventional treatment (WM group,n = 171) alone and ICWM (ICWM group,n = 276). The changes of the cases with normal level (≥95%) or abnormal level (<95%) SaO(2) were observed dynamically.Results: In the 3rd-14th day of the therapeutic course, the percentage of patients with normal SaO(2 ) in the ICWM group was higher than that in the WM group (OR = 0. 5178,P = 0.0038), and this tendency was more evident in patients of the severe type (OR = 0.18,P = 0.0001). However, the statistical significance of difference was only shown in patients for whom the ICWM treatment started in the early period after the onset (<-7 days after it, OR = 0.3803,P = 0.006), but not shown in those who received ICWM treatment later in the mid-late period of SARS (P>0.05).Conclusion: ICWM treatment, particularly when it is used for intervention in the early stage, is beneficial for maintaining normal SaO(2) in SARS patients.