LI Xue,ZHOU Jipu,LIU Jian,et al.TCM syndrome distribution and pathogenesis evolution of post-acute COVID-19 interstitial lung disease[J]. Beijing Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine,2025,44(08):961-966.
LI Xue,ZHOU Jipu,LIU Jian,et al.TCM syndrome distribution and pathogenesis evolution of post-acute COVID-19 interstitial lung disease[J]. Beijing Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine,2025,44(08):961-966. DOI: 10.16025/j.1674-1307.2025.08.003.
TCM syndrome distribution and pathogenesis evolution of post-acute COVID-19 interstitial lung disease
To analyze the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) symptoms and syndrome distribution characteristics of patients with post-acute COVID-19 interstitial lung disease (PC-ILD) and explore the pathogenesis and disease evolution.
Methods
2
A total of 103 patients diagnosed with PC-ILD from February 2023 to June 2024 at the outpatient and inpatient departments of Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, were enrolled. Their medical information, including data from the four diagnostic methods and syndrome differentiation, was retrospectively analyzed.
Results
2
Among the 103 patients, 20 symptoms were recorded, with pulmonary symptoms being the most common. Compared to patients with acute COVID-19 whose disease duration was ≥3 months, those with a disease duration of
<
3 months had a higher proportion of thirst, half-body sweating, bitter taste, difficulty swallowing, and sticky mouth (
P
<
0.05), and a lower proportion of aversion to cold and waist/knee soreness (
P
<
0.05). Compared to mild and moderate COVID-19 patients, severe and critical patients had a higher proportion of shortness of breath, wheezing, fatigue, and night sweating (
P
<
0.05). Compared to patients without underlying ILD, those with underlying ILD had a higher proportion of shortness of breath, wheezing, fatigue, lumbar and knee soreness, and aversion to cold (
P
<
0.05). Among the 103 patients, there were 4 types of tongue texture, 5 types of tongue coating, and 6 types of pulse. Compared to patients with acute COVID-19 whose disease duration was ≥3 months, those with a disease duration of
<
3 months had a higher proportion of yellow
greasy coating, slippery pulse, thready pulse, and soggy pulse (
P
<
0.05). Compared to mild and moderate COVID-19 patients, severe and critical patients had a higher proportion of thready pulse (
P
<
0.05). Compared to patients without ILD, those with underlying ILD had a higher proportion of deep pulse and thready pulse (
P
<
0.05). Among the 103 patients, 79 (76.7%) had a mixed deficiency and excess syndrome, 14 (13.6%) had an excess syndrome, and 10 (9.7%) had a deficiency syndrome. There were a total of 13 types of syndromes. Compared to patients with acute COVID-19 whose disease duration was ≥3 months, those with a disease duration of
<
3 months had a higher proportion of lung
yin
deficiency, kidney
yin
deficiency, dampness-heat accumulation, and
Shaoyang
depression syndrome (
P
<
0.05), and a lower proportion of kidney
yang
deficiency (
P
<
0.05). Compared to mild and moderate COVID-19 patients, severe and critical patients had a higher proportion of lung
qi
deficiency, lung
yin
deficiency, and kidney
yin
deficiency (
P
<
0.05). Compared to patients without ILD, those with ILD had a higher proportion of kidney
qi
deficiency and kidney
yang
deficiency (
P
<
0.05). The overall disease distribution among the 103 patients was primarily in the lungs.
Conclusion
2
The clinical TCM symptoms of PC-ILD are mainly pulmonary symptoms. The pathogenesis involves both deficiency of healthy
qi
(lung
qi
deficiency) and excess pathogenic factors (turbidity-phlegm and dampness-stasis). The disease primarily affects the
Taiyin
lung, with severe/critical COVID-19 patients and those with underlying ILD more likely to involve the
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