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Clinical study on modified Shenzhe Zhenqi Decoction combined with ambroxol hydrochloride in the treatment of severe pneumonia

Binyu Xing, Cun-Yi Shen, Ting Lin, Xiaoning Li, Wen-Jun Tan

Frontiers in Physiology, 2025

138 participants · 1 citation

Abstract

Objective This study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of modified Shenzhe Zhenqi Decoction combined with ambroxol hydrochloride in treating severe pneumonia. Methods This was a single-center, prospective, double-blind, randomized controlled trial. A total of 138 patients with severe pneumonia were randomly divided into two groups. The control group (n = 69) received ambroxol hydrochloride, while the observation group (n = 69) received modified Shenzhe Zhenqi Decoction combined with ambroxol hydrochloride. Clinical efficacy, Traditional Chinese Medicine symptom scores (fever, cough, expectoration, dyspnea), arterial blood gas indicators [oxygen saturation (SaO2), partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2), partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2)], lung function [forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), peak expiratory flow (PEF)], and inflammatory markers [interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), C-reactive protein (CRP)] were evaluated. Adverse events were recorded for both groups. Results The overall efficacy rates in the combined and control groups were 98.55% and 89.86% (P 0.05). Conclusion Modified Shenzhe Zhenqi Decoction combined with ambroxol hydrochloride demonstrated ideal clinical efficacy in treating severe pneumonia, alleviating symptoms and pulmonary inflammation and improving arterial blood gas indicators and lung function.

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design. Reported size: 138 participants or records.

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