Effectiveness and safety of Qidong Huoxue decoction in treatment of acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome: a randomized, controlled trial.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of Qidong Huoxue decoction (，QDHX) in treating acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS) when used as an adjunctive treatment.

Methods: ALI/ARDS patients admitted to our medical intensive care unit were randomly allocated to the control group or the QDHX group and received standard therapy. The QDHX group received QDHX (50 mL per day for 14 d) orally or via a gastric tube. The primary outcome was measured according to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndrome scores, with partial pressure of oxygen/fraction of inspired oxygen (PaO₂/FiO₂) levels as the secondary outcome.

Results: A total of 73 patients completed the study (36 in the TCM and 37 in the conventional group), and their records were analyzed. After 14-d treatment, the TCM group showed a significant decrease in TCM syndrome scores (P < 0.05) and increased PaO₂/FiO₂ levels (P < 0.05). The therapeutic effect of integrated Chinese and western medicine was more significant than that of Western Medicine alone. No serious side effects were observed.

Conclusions: Our study results show that QDHX in combination with conventional drug therapy can significantly reduce some clinical symptoms in patients with ALI/ARDS.