Objective

2

To evaluate the clinical efficacy of integrative traditional Chinese and Western medicine （ITCWM） in the treatment of chikungunya fever.

Methods

2

A multicenter， real-world retrospective study design was conducted to collect clinical data from patients with Chikungunya fever， analyzing clinical symptoms and tongue and pulse characteristics. According to treatments received， patients were grouped into a Western medicine （WM） group （conventional Western therapy only） and an ITCWM group （conventional Western therapy plus TCM interventions）. The time to viral nucleic-acid negativity and the time to defervescence were compared between the two groups. Symptom improvement regarding joint pain， joint swelling， rash， and pruritus was assessed at Day 1 and Day 3 after treatment initiation. Safety evaluation was conducted concurrently.

Results

2

①A total of 500 patients were included （WM group，

n

=94； ITCWM group，

n

=406）. ② Among the 500 patients， more than half presented with joint pain （86.2%）， fever （76.6%）， and rash （67.8%）， with a majority exhibiting a red tongue （72.8%）， greasy coating （40.6%）， and slippery pulse （46.4%）. ③Compared with the WM group， the ITCWM group showed shorter time to viral nucleic-acid negativity and defervescence （

P

<

0.05）. In subgroup analyses， the ITCWM group reduced time to defervescence in acute-phase patients （

P

<

0.05） and reduced time to viral nucleic-acid negativity and defervescence in convalescent-phase patients （

P

<

0.05）. ④At Day 1， the ITCWM group showed greater improvements than the WM group in joint swelling， rash， and pruritus （

P

<

0.05）； at Day 3， the ITCWM group demonstrated better efficacy in alleviating joint pain， joint swelling， rash， and pruritus （

P

<

0.05）. Subgroup analyses showed that， at Day 1， there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in the improvement of the above clinical symptoms among acute-phase patients （

P

>

0.05）， whereas in convalescent-phase patients， the ITCWM group showed better efficacy in relieving joint swelling and rash compared with the WM group （

P

<

0.05）. At Day 3， the ITCWM group demonstrated greater efficacy in improving joint pain， rash， and pruritus among acute-phase patients （

P

<

0.05）， and greater efficacy in improving joint pain， joint swelling， rash， and pruritus among convalescent-phase patients compared with the WM group （

P

<

0.05）. ⑤No significant adverse events or adverse reactions were observed during the treatment.

Conclusion

2

ITCWM accelerates symptom relief and shortens the clinical course of Chikungunya fever， with good safety.