Effects of applying integrated therapy with Traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine on liver and kidney functions in patients with SARS

The objective was to investigate the effectiveness and safety of treatment for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) applying an integrated therapeutic regimen of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine. Forty-seven patients with confirmed SARS were randomly allocated to either the integrated treatment group or the Western medicine-treated group for a treatment course of 3 weeks. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) , total bilirubin (Tbil) and creatinine (CRE) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were measured every week throughout the treatment period. Hepatic dysfunction occurred in all patients. The total numbers of patients with hepatic dysfunction were 23 in the integrated treatment group and 21 in the group treated with Western medicine, and the numbers had decreased to 13 and 20 after treatment (p = 0.00441). The effect of TCM on ALT was the most marked: before treatment there were 20 and 8 patients with abnormal ALT in the integrated treatment group and the group treated with Western medicine, respectively, whereas the numbers were 13 and 19 after treatment. The highest level of ALT in the integrated treatment group was 81.54 ± 49.25 IU/l reached on day 7, and after treatment, it had decreased to 46.92 ± 29.25 IU/l (p < 0.05). In the group treated with Western medicine, the value before treatment was 53.96 ± 48.59 IU/l, and it had risen to 80.80 ± 56.26 IU/l after treatment (p < 0.05﴿. There were nine and six patients with abnormal AST before treatment in the integrated treatment group and the group treated with Western medicine, respectively; the numbers had decreased to one and three cases, respectively after treatment. Fifteen patients in the integrated treatment group and 10 in the group treated with Western medicine had renal dysfunction. After treatment there were still six and four cases in the two groups, respectively. Dysfunction in liver and kidney appeared in SARS patients during the onset and later stages of the disease (particularly in ALT). It was shown that the integrated therapy with TCM and Western medicine was effective in alleviating damage to liver and kidneys, promoting improvement of hepatic function, protecting renal function and accelerating patients’ recovery from illness, and the TCM regimen proved safe when applied in the treatment of SARS. 24 No. 302 Hospital of PLA Beijing 100039, People's Republic of China SARS: Treatment using a combination of Traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine