An Overview on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome(SARS) in WHO Clinical Reports

중증급성호흡기증후군(SARS)의 한약 치료에 관련된 WHO 임상논문 보고에 대한 개관

Objective: In the winter of 2002, severe acute respiratory syndrome(SARS) began to spread throughout the world. More than 5,000 cases were reported in China, including over 1,700 cases in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region(Hong Kong SAR). The total number of cases reported from Canada and Singapore was more than 200. The total number of SARS cases world-wide reached 8,437 with incidences in 29 counties. Mortality from SARS is estimated at $10{\sim}12%$. When the SARS outbreak occurred in China, the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of China immediately initiated clinical research projects on the use of integrated herbal medicine and Western medicine for treating SARS. and, in Hong Kong SAR, research on the use of herbal medicine for the prevention and treatment of SARS. Reports were released during convalescence. The objective of this study is to overview twelve clinical SARS reports of WHO on the treatment of SARS with herbal medicine and evaluate the efficacy and safety of treatment of SARS with herbal medicine, and further to share experiences and knowledge of the treatment of SARS. Methods: Twelve clinical reports about SARS from the WHO were selected, overviewed and evaluated for efficacy and safety of treatments of SARS. Results and Conclusion: Twelve clinical reports about SARS showed that the integrated treatment may have advantages, and the advantages are reflected in the following findings: Firstly, herbal medicine is not targeted only at a specific etiology or a certain pathological link, but also at the pathological status of the patients at that particular time. Therefore, comprehensive readjustment was made through various angles, targets and channels to restore the balance of the body. Secondly, there are advantages in the differentiation of the disease and the treatment. Based on the various symptoms, herbal medicine enables the physician to adopt the most suitable principle, provide individual treatment, and to administer medicine in accordance with the actual process and nature of the illness. Thirdly, there are advantages in the results of the treatment; herbal medicine can relieve symptoms, promote absorption of lung inflammation, improve the degree of blood oxygen saturation, regulate immunological functions, reduce the required dosage of glucocorticoid and other Western medicines, and reduce case fatality rate, in addition to lowering the cost of treatment.