SARS:First Patients Treated with Chinese Medicine

April 11, 2003

April 12,2003,

Dear Listmembers,

Please find enclosed my translation of Takung Pao article which describes the specific conceptual and methodological apporach used by the Guanggong TCM Hospital in the treatment of SARS patients.

Regards,

Rey Tiquia

President

Alliance of Associations in Australia

Melbourne ,Australia

Tel: (03) 94991362

Takung Pao ( on-line April 8, 2003 )

Using the Concept of Wen Bing (Warm Febrile Diseases) To Treat SARS

TCM experts in Canton divides the treatment of SARS into four stages based upon the concept of Wen Bing Warm Febrile Diseases .

The TCM experts in Canton based upon TCM concept of Wen Bing divides the treatment plan into four stages i.e. Wei, Qi, Ying and xue (Blood) stages) That is to examine closely shen shi the extent of the heteropathic bing xie invasion into the body , and to adopt pattern differentiation treatment bian zheng zhi liao vis-a-vis the different clinical stages (pathological condition bing qing) that the patient is in.

In the first stage the early onset of the disease . Due to the ŒWind -Heat invasion¹ feng re ru qin, the patient exhibits symptoms of fever, aversion to cold, cough,dryness in the mouth . Under these clinical conditions, the Œwind has to be dispersed and heat cleared ¹ shu feng qing re. The herbal formula to use is Yin Qian San Œ Lonicera and Forsythia Combination¹ (adjusted jia jian to specific patient¹s clinical condition ) .

In the second stage the ³wind heteropathy congest the lungs² xie re yong fei . At this point the patient has high fever, coughs out phlegm which is thick and yellow in colour, and inflammation in the lungs. In this clinical condition, the Œheat in the lungs must be cleared¹ qing fei re The herbal formula ma xing shi gan tang 'Decoction of Ephedra,apricot kernel,Gypsum and licorice' (adjusted ) must be used.

The third stage is when Œheat enters the pericardium¹ re ru xin bao and symptoms of persistent high fever, blurring of consciousness shen zhi pu qing , hurried breathing . At this stage, oxygen through facial mask must be administered or a respirator hu xi ji be used . At this point as well TCM treatment must be coordinated with Western medical emergency treatments. Use the formula An gong niu huang wan 'Bezaor Bolus for Resurrection ' or Si xue dan 'Purple Snow Pills ' . These preparations should be administered by first dissolving them in a solution and then administered through stomach intubation.

On the fourth stage(blood stage) which is the final stage, the patient coughs out blood, passes out blood in the urine, bleeding through the gums, and subcutaneous ecchymosis yu ban . Among the patients in the No.2 Sun Yat Sen Hospital some exhibited reduced platelet count, bleed easily, and medical personell found it difficult to control the bleeding. At this point the herbal formula Xi jiao di huang tang ' Decoction of Rhinoceros Horn and Rehmannia ' must be used. Because the Rhino horn is a protected animal specie, water buffalo horn may be used instead. This formula can¹ cool the blood and dispel heat¹ liang xue yu re.