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Complementary and alternative medicine therapies and COVID-19: a systematic review
Mahin Badakhsh1, Majid Dastras2, Zohreh Sarchahi3
1Department of Midwifery, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, Iran.
Insights
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) interventions show promise in improving psychological and physical symptoms for COVID-19 patients. Further research is recommended to explore diverse CAM approaches for coronavirus disease management.
Area of Science:
- Integrative Medicine
- Public Health
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) presents a significant global health challenge with no definitive treatment.
- Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies are increasingly explored as adjunct treatments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically evaluate the impact of CAM interventions on the well-being of COVID-19 patients.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive literature search was conducted across four major databases (Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE) up to July 16, 2020.
- Keywords included "complementary and alternative medicine therapies" and "Coronavirus."
- A systematic review was performed on 14 selected studies involving 972 COVID-19 patients.
Main Results:
- CAM interventions such as acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), relaxation, and Qigong demonstrated significant improvements in psychological symptoms including depression, anxiety, stress, and sleep quality.
- Physical symptoms, such as inflammatory markers, physical activity levels, chest pain, and respiratory function, were also positively affected by various CAM approaches.
- Overall, CAM interventions showed a positive effect on multiple dimensions of health in COVID-19 patients.
Conclusions:
- CAM interventions offer a beneficial role in managing both psychological and physical symptoms associated with COVID-19.
- The current body of evidence, while promising, is limited, necessitating further investigation into a broader range of CAM therapies for coronavirus disease.
Objectives:
Despite the high prevalence of coronavirus and various treatment approaches, including complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), there is still no definitive treatment for coronavirus. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of CAM interventions on COVID-19 patients.
Content:
Four databases (Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and EMBASE) were searched from the inception of databases until July 16, 2020. Keywords included complementary and alternative medicine therapies and Coronavirus.
Summary And Outlook:
Of the 1,137 studies searched, 14 studies performed on 972 COVID-19 patients entered the systematic review final stage. The results showed that different CAM interventions (acupuncture, Traditional Chinese medicine [TCM], relaxation, Qigong) significantly improved various psychological symptoms (depression, anxiety, stress, sleep quality, negative emotions, quality of life) and physical symptoms (inflammatory factors, physical activity, chest pain, and respiratory function) in COVID-19 patients. The results showed that various CAM interventions have a positive effect on improving the various dimensions of coronavirus disease but since there are few studies in this regard, further studies using different CAM approaches are recommended.
