The combination of Western medicine and traditional Chinese
medicine (TCM) is a safe treatment method for severe acute
respiratory syndrome (SARS),
according to medical experts attending an international seminar in
Beijing Friday.
The experts?believe that?the combination method can
alleviate the breathing difficulties of SARS patients and help
reduce inflammation, said deputy director Li Zhenji of the State
Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine at a press
conference.
According to research reports submitted to the seminar, which
focuses on treating SARS with the combination of Western medicine
and TCM, SARS patients of identical age and physical condition
enjoy higher survival chances using the combination method compared
with those?only receiving Western medicine.
The cost of the combination method, experts say, is also lower
compared with the purely Western medicine method.
Research findings also show that of doctors and nurses treating
SARS patients, those that had taken Chinese herbal medicine as
prevention were all free from SARS infection during the SARS
outbreak in parts of China in the first half of this year.
The experts suggested administering the combination method in the
early stages as well as the full process of SARS treatment, and
called for including TCM in the clinical treatment link of China's
public health emergency response mechanism.
Preliminary statistics show that of the 195 hospitals in China
designated for SARS treatment, 102 had sent medical staff trained
in TCM to participate in SARS treatment. TCM was used in treating
3,104 confirmed SARS cases.
(Xinhua News Agency October 11, 2003)