Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of using the traditional Chinese herbal medicine
for the treatment of severe HFMD in 725 patients aged >1 year in a multicenter, retrospective analysis. The patients were divided into the
and ribavirin groups, and the temperatures, presence or absence of skin rashes and oral lesions, nervous system (NS) involvement, and viral loads of the patients, as well as the safety of the treatments, were evaluated. The median duration of fever, median time to NS involvement, and the number of patients with oral ulcers and/or vesicles, as well as skin rashes, were decreased in the
group compared with the ribavirin group. In addition, the EV71 viral loads were decreased in the
group, suggesting that
exerted more potent antiviral effects compared with ribavirin. The present study demonstrated that
was suitable for the treatment of severe HFMD in patients aged >1 year, since it was shown to rapidly relieve fever, attenuate oral lesions and rashes, and improve NS involvement. Furthermore, it was demonstrated to be relatively safe for topical application.