Impact of Different Traditional Chinese Medicine Constitutions on the Clinical Outcomes of COVID-19 Patients Infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant: A Retrospective Observational Study

Hui Feng; Shanhu Qiu; Xiang Hong; Shaolei Ma; Zhenghua Hou; Kongbo Zhu; Ming Guo; Changsong Wang; Yingzi Huang

doi:10.2147/IDR.S424176

Impact of Different Traditional Chinese Medicine Constitutions on the Clinical Outcomes of COVID-19 Patients Infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant: A Retrospective Observational Study

Infect Drug Resist. 2023 Sep 25:16:6333-6344. doi: 10.2147/IDR.S424176. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Hui Feng¹, Shanhu Qiu², Xiang Hong³, Shaolei Ma⁴, Zhenghua Hou⁵, Kongbo Zhu⁶, Ming Guo¹, Changsong Wang¹, Yingzi Huang⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
² Department of General Practice, Zhongda Hospital, Institute of Diabetes, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
³ Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
⁴ Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
⁵ Department of Psychosomatics & Psychiatry, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
⁶ Department of Cardiology, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
⁷ Department of Critical Care Medicine, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.

Abstract

Purpose: Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) constitution and disease occurrence, development, and prognosis are interrelated. This study aimed to investigate the association between TCM constitution and the time to negative nucleic acid test results in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infected with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant.

Patients and methods: We identified COVID-19 patients (≥18 years) infected with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant and collected clinical data, including clinical symptoms, time to negative nucleic acid test results, and TCM constitution. Linear and logistic regression analyses explored the relationship between TCM constitution and the time to negative nucleic acid test results in patients with the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

Results: We included 486 patients with COVID-19, with a mean age of 40.2 years; 321 (66.0%) men and 165 (34.0%) women. Balanced constitution accounted for 43.8%, and unbalanced constitution accounted for 56.2%. Chi-square test showed that different TCM constitutions had significant differences in the influence of clinical symptoms of COVID-19 patients (P < 0.01). After controlling for various factors, multiple linear regression analysis revealed that an unbalanced constitution was significantly positively correlated with time to negative nucleic acid test results (P < 0.05). After controlling for various factors, logistic regression analysis revealed that an unbalanced constitution was closely related to the 7-day nucleic acid test conversion rate (odds ratio (OR): 0.53, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.36-0.80, P < 0.05). After dividing the unbalanced constitution into deficiency constitution and non-deficiency constitution, the non-deficiency constitution was closely associated with the 7-day nucleic acid test conversion rate (OR = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.28-0.74, P < 0.05). Further analysis revealed that damp-heat constitution in the non-deficiency constitution was associated with the 7-day nucleic acid test conversion rate (OR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.18-0.60, P < 0.05).

Conclusion: In patients with COVID-19, an unbalanced constitution is associated with a longer time to negative nucleic acid test results and lower 7-day nucleic acid test conversion rates.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant; seven-day conversion rate to negative; time to negative nucleic acid test; traditional Chinese medicine constitution.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the National Major Epidemic Treatment Base Construction Project (2019-320831-84-02-524538) and the Chinese and Western Medicine Collaborative Medical Research Project, Zhongda Hospital affiliated to Southeast University (2023zxyxt16).