Xiaoyan Li1, Aihua Ou1, Wenwei Ouyang1, Stålsby Lundborg Cecilia2, Marrone Gaetano2, Banghan Ding3, Bojun Chen3, Hong Zhou3, Jiqiang Li3, Zehuai Wen1,4, Chuanjian Lu5,6. 1. Key Unit of Methodology in Clinical Research, Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510120, China. 2. Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 17177, Sweden. 3. Department of Emergency, Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510120, China. 4. National Center for Design Measurement and Evaluation in Clinical Research, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510405, China. 5. Medical Department, Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510120, China. 6. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Clinical Research on Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, Guangzhou 510120, China.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To present and analyze treatments and clinical outcomes of Chinese patients with influenza-like illness. METHODS: We conducted a multi-site observational study from December 2009 to April 2010. Patients with influenza-like illness from 45 hospitals were enrolled. Patients received Chinese herbal medicine (CHM), conventional treatments, or CHM plus conventional treatments (combination treatment) according to the guidelines for influenza A/H1N1 2009 in China. The primary outcomes were the time to alleviation of symptoms and the incidence of complications. The secondary outcomes were the time until becoming afebrile, incidence of severe illness, testing negative on an influenza A viral test, and total medical fees. RESULTS: In total, 5967 patients were enrolled. The percentages of patients prescribed CHM alone, conventional treatment, and combination treatment were 27.8%, 5.1%, and 67.7%, respectively. There were no significant differences in the time to alleviation of symptoms, incidence of complications, time to becoming afebrile, or rate of severe illness among the CHM, conventional, and combination treatment groups. The rates of testing negative on the influenza virus A rapid test and H1N1 virus test were 90.3% and 76.3%, respectively. However, significant differences were found in the total medical fees among the three groups: CHM treatments were more economical than the other two treatments. CONCLUSION: The efficacy of CHM for influenza-like illness was not different from that of conventional treatments, but it was more economical.
OBJECTIVE: To present and analyze treatments and clinical outcomes of Chinese patients with influenza-like illness. METHODS: We conducted a multi-site observational study from December 2009 to April 2010. Patients with influenza-like illness from 45 hospitals were enrolled. Patients received Chinese herbal medicine (CHM), conventional treatments, or CHM plus conventional treatments (combination treatment) according to the guidelines for influenzaA/H1N1 2009 in China. The primary outcomes were the time to alleviation of symptoms and the incidence of complications. The secondary outcomes were the time until becoming afebrile, incidence of severe illness, testing negative on an influenza A viral test, and total medical fees. RESULTS: In total, 5967 patients were enrolled. The percentages of patients prescribed CHM alone, conventional treatment, and combination treatment were 27.8%, 5.1%, and 67.7%, respectively. There were no significant differences in the time to alleviation of symptoms, incidence of complications, time to becoming afebrile, or rate of severe illness among the CHM, conventional, and combination treatment groups. The rates of testing negative on the influenza virus A rapid test and H1N1 virus test were 90.3% and 76.3%, respectively. However, significant differences were found in the total medical fees among the three groups: CHM treatments were more economical than the other two treatments. CONCLUSION: The efficacy of CHM for influenza-like illness was not different from that of conventional treatments, but it was more economical.
Entities:
Keywords:
Cost-benefit analysis; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Influenza A virus, H1N1 subtype; Observational study;